yfr  fit  *~  / 

«pt~4 


BY    THE     SAME    AUTHOR. 

THIRD  EEVISED  AND  ENLARGED  EDITION. 


"THE  OPEN  FIREPLACE  IN  ALL  AGES." 

Quarto,  with  over  3OO  Illustrations. 

PRICE,  IN  CLOTH,  $4.00. 


"  This  is  undoubtedly  the  most  extensive  and  critical  work  on  this 
subject  in  the  language.  The  author  takes  up  the  subject  of  heat- 
ing and  ventilation  and  treats  it  in  extenso,  showing  existing  de. 
fects,  giving  a  full  historical  resume"  of  the  theme,  and  ends  by 
criticism  and  practical  suggestions." — Chicago  Journal. 

"  A  very  beautiful  book,  artistically  and  practically."  —  Louisville 
Courier-Journal. 

"  It  is  brimful  of  good  suggestions."  —  N.  T.  Graphic. 

"The  book  is  excellent  from  cover  to  cover,  and  a  real  contribu- 
tion to  useful  literature."—  Boston  Advertiser. 


IN    PRESS. 

SANITARY  PLUMBING. 

A  Practical  Treatise  on  Modern  Sanitary  Plumbing. 

12mo,  with  over  400  Illustrations. 


Republished  from  the  American  Architect  and  Building  News. 


"  These  investigations  have  been  set  forth  quite  fully  in  illus- 
trated communications  to  the  American  Architect,  which  papers 
certainly  mark  a  very  important  step  forward  in  Sanitary  Litera- 
ture."—COL.  GEO.  E.  WAKING,  JR.,  in  the  Century  Magazine  for 
December,  1884. 


["LECTURES 

ON 

THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  HOUSE  DRAINAGE, 

DELIVERED     BEFORE    THE 

SUFFOLK    DISTRICT    MEDICAL    SOCIETY 

(Section  for  Clinical  Htdicine,  Pathology,  and  Hygiene), 
AND    THE 

BOSTON   SOCIETY  OF   ARCHITECTS, 

AT    THE 

MASS.  INSTITUTE  OF  TECHNOLOGY.  \ 


J.  PICKERING  PUTNAM, 


Part  I  reprinted  from  the  Boston  Medical  and  Surgical  Journal. 
Nos.  17,  18,  and  19,  1885. 


From  the  Editor  of  the  Sanitary  Jtecord,  London. 

I5y  permitting  me  to  reproduce  these  "  admirable  articles  in  the 
Sanitary  Record,  you  will  greatly  oblige  me  and  serve  the  cause  of 
Sanitary  Science  in  England."  "  THE  EDITOR. 


BOSTON : 
TICKNOR    AND    COMPANY. 

1RS6 


PRESS   OF 

STANLEY  AND    USHER, 
BOSTON. 


THE  PRINCIPLES  OF  HOUSE  DRAINAGE. 


PART     I. 

[Reprinted  from  the  Boston  Medical  ami  Surgical  Journal.] 

As  announced  in  the  invitation  cards  to  this  lec- 
ture, a  number  of  the  appliances  used  for  illustra- 
tion are  inventions  of  my  own,  and  some  of  them 
are  patented.  These  devices  have  been  clearly 
marked  on  the  drawings  with  their  name,  "  Sanitas," 
and  in  referring  to  them  they  will  always  be  so 
designated.  The  object  of  this  is  that  every  one 
may  know  when  anything  of  my  own  is  referred  to, 
and  be  able  to  assure  himself  that  the  subject  is 
treated  without  bias.  My  intention  is  to  make  no 
statement  which  is  not  founded  on  facts  recognized 
by  all  or  easily  demonstrated,  nor  to  follow  any 
course  of  reasoning  which  is  not  perfectly  clear  and 
logical.  In  order,  moreover,  to  make  our  meeting 
as  satisfactory  and  fruitful  as  possible,  it  is 
hoped  that  every  one  will  make  a  note  of  any 
point  which  may  not  be  perfectly  clear  to  him,  or  of 
any  deductions  with  which  he  may  not  be  fully  in 
accord,  and  mention  them  in  the  discussion  follow- 
ing the  lecture,  so  that  the  reasoning  leading  to 
these  deductions  may  be  reexamined  or  more  clearly 
stated. 

It  is  proper  to  add  that  the  devices  are  the  out- 
growth of  a  careful  practical  study  of  plumbing 
made  from  the  unprejudiced  standpoint  of  the 
architect  working  for  the  interest  of  his  client. 


4  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

They  are  the  result,  and  not  the  cause,  of  the 
investigations. 

As  plumbing  is  now  practised,  the  architect  or 
the  sanitary  engineer  is,  from  the  nature  of  his 
work,  the  one  upon  whom  we  must  depend  chiefly 
for  its  improvement.  Evidently  the  most  important 
part  of  an  architect's  work  is  that  which  concerns 
the  health  and  comfort  of  his  client. 

The  arrangement  of  the  plumbing  pipes  and 
fixtures  influences  the  entire  plan  from  foundation 
to  roof. 

Some  of  the  rooms,  such  as  the  laundry  and 
toilet  rooms,  are  designed  exclusively  for  the  plumb- 
ing, and  all  are  more  or  less  dependent  upon  its 
arrangement.  The  walls  and  beams  must  be  slot- 
ted and  framed  for  its  reception,  and  differently  for 
each  different  kind  of  fixture  or  system  of  piping 
and  for  their  lighting  and  ventilating  apparatus. 
Hence,  the  architect  must  be  familiar  with  all  the 
details  of  the  work,  and  upon  him  lies  the  responsi- 
bility, not  only  for  the  healthfulness,  convenience, 
and  cost  of  the  particular  work  over  which  he  has 
immediate  charge,  but  also,  in  a  great  measure,  for 
the  general  status  of  the  art  of  plumbing  through- 
out the  countrv.  The  plumber,  like  the  architect, 
may  see  defects  in  the  methods  of  plumbing  now  in 
vogue,  but  he  has  comparatively  little  interest  in 
promoting  reform  because  the  authority  lies  with 
the  architect.*  The  plumber  has  contracted  to  do 
a  certain  amount  of  work  for  a  certain  amount  of 
money  and  it  is  not  easy  for  him  to  alter  the  con- 
tract. If  he  is  directed  to  put  into  a  house  a  few 
hundred  dollars'  worth  of  piping  more  than 

*  Some  architectural  linns  now  employ  regularly  a  Sanitary  En- 
gineer, eithei  directly  or  indirectly  connected  with  their  offices,  to 
take  charge,  in  cooperation  with  the  architect,  of  the  department  of 
heating,  ventilation,  and  plumbing.  The  custom  has  much  to  recom- 
mend in  it. 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE.  5 

is  necessary  or  desirable,  or  set  complicated 
or  ill-devised  fixtures,  it  is  not  his  duty  to  protest. 
Competition  has  reduced  his  profits  to  so  small  a 
figure  that  the  plumber  cannot  afford  to  be  an  active 
reformer. 

The  physician  seldom  interferes  in  the  details  of 
plumbing  work,  and  the  public  are,  as  a  rule,  pro- 
foundly ignorant  of  them. 

The  architect,  however,  acting  directly  as»the 
agent  of  the  owner,  is  bound,  when  he  discovers 
defects  affecting  the  health  as  well  as  the  pocket  of 
his  client,  to  use  all  the  influence  he  possesses  to 
remove  them. 

Every  sanitarian  recognizes  the  serious  defects  of 
our  present  plumbing  methods  and  apparatus.  Our 
common  soil  and  waste  pipes  are  neither  gas  nor 
water  tight  on  account  of  their  defective  form  and 
jointing,  and  they  are  expensive  to  lay. 

Our  traps  either  are  incapable  of  retaining  their 
water-seal  against  the  adverse  influences  affecting 
them  in  common  use,  or  they  are  bulky,  unscientific, 
and  expensive. 

Our  lavatories  are  slow  emptying,  incon- 
venient, and  complicated.  Most  of  the  water- 
closets  in  use  are  full  of  defects  and  flushed  on 
incorrect  principles,  and,  in  short,  there  is  scarcely 
a  single  point  in  which  our  plumbing  is  not  evidently 
susceptible  of  great  improvement. 

Let  us  examine  these  defects  and  study  the  prin- 
ciples which  should  guide  us  in  effecting  their 
cure  :  — 

Simplicity.  The  tendency  at  present  is  toward 
undue  complication.  The  plumbing  work  is  becom- 
ing each  year  more  elaborate  and  costly,  more 
difficult  to  set  correctly,  and  more  difficult  to  com- 
prehend and  repair  when  correctly  set,  so  that  the 
public  are  becoming  alarmed  and  confused.  They 


6  THE    PRINCIPLES    OV 

despair  of  being  able  to  understand  the  intricate 
system  of  piping  and  machinery  for  the  supply  and 
waste  of  fixtures.  The  result  is  a  general  feeling 
of  insecurity  and  a  tendency  to  forego  the  conven- 
ience of  plumbing  fixtures  wherever  their  presence 
is  not  an  absolute  necessity. 

Our  byword  should  be  "simplicity."  Rather 
than  reduce  the  number  of  our  fixtures,  let  us  reduce 
the  amount  of  machinery  connected  with  them,  pro- 
vided we  can  do  so  without  diminishing  the  security 
they  are  intended  to  afford. 

If  we  find  that  our  process  of  simplification 
actually  increases  the  security  of  the  work,  all  will 
be  gainers  —  the  public  as  well  as  the  plumber. 
For  what  is  best  for  the  public  by  increasing  their 
confidence  is  also  best  for  the  plumbers,  though  they 
appear  often  to  lose  sight  of  this  fact. 

Accessibility.  Another  leading  principle  is  that 
all  plumbing  work  in  a  house  should  be  everywhere, 
without  exception,  accessible  and  as  far  as  possible 
visible. 

Pipes  should  never  run  behind  plaster  when  it  is 
possible  to  expose  them  on  walls  and  ceilings.  The 
pipes  both  waste  and  supply  as  well  as  the  bathtub 
traps  of  a  bathroom  should  be  placed,  if  possible, 
on  the  ceiling  underneath  the  plaster  of  the  bath- 
room or  china-closet  below  —  never  between  the  floor- 
joists.  There  is  nothing  in  a  neatly  arranged  line 
of  lead,  brass,  and  iron  piping  that  one  needs  to  be 
ashamed  of.  On  the  contrary  when  skilfully  placed 
and  neatly  jointed  in  a  workmanlike  manner,  as 
would  be  the  case  when  the  plumber  knew  they  were 
to  be  forever  exposed  to  view,  these  bright  metal 
pipes  become  quite  ornamental  when  mounted  with 
lead  or  brass  clamps  on  strips  of  finished  woodwork 
varnished  and  symmetricallv  arranged  in  corners 
or  where  good  taste  and  judgment  direct. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  7 

In  the  darker  ages  of  architectural  art,  chimneys 
were  despised  and  hidden  from  view.  Now  they 
become  the  most  prominent  features  of  a  design, 
suggesting  hospitable  comfort  and  healthful  ventila- 
tion within.  So  should  it  be  with  the  piping.  A 
knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  house-owner  that  all 
the  pipes  which  provide  him  with  the  comforts  of 
pure  water  and  safely  carry  off  the  foul  are  in  full 
view  and  in  a  sound  condition  will  afford  him  much 
solid  satisfaction. 

Avoidance  of  Mechanical  Obstructions.  A  third 
principle  is  to  avoid  all  mechanical  obstructions,  such 
as  valves,  balls,  gates,  and  all  other  impediments 
to  the  water-way,  and  in  a  system  of  water-carriage 
to  do  all  trapping  by  means  of  a  water-seal  alone. 

Mechanical  devices  form  no  reliable  security 
against  the  passage  of  sewer  gas.  These  valves 
and  balls  cannot  be  made  to  fit  their  seats  with  such 
accuracy  as  to  exclude  liquids  and  gases,  or  micro- 
scopic disease-germs,  even  when  new.  They  soon 
become  more  or  less  fouled  with  dirt 
and  corrosion  and  then  their  inefficiency 
becomes  evident  even  to  the  eye.  A 
sound  water-seal,  however,  properly 
protected,  is  found  to  be  entirely  re- 
liable in  excluding  noxious  matters  of 
all  kinds. 

Fig.  1  represents  a  trap  having 
the  undesirable  mechanical  seal  in  the 
form  of  a  ball. 

Moreover  we  are  obliged  to  rely  upon 
a  simple  water-seal  whether  we  desire 
to  or  not,  because  our  water-closet™  j  Thejen. 
traps  or  their  overflows  are ,  and  must  nings  trap,  with 
be,  constructed  without  mechanical mec1mnical  8eaL 
obstructions.  Evidently  if  the  water-seal  is  in- 
efficient we  must  either  construct  our  water-closet 


8  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

traps  and  their  overflows  on  a  different  principle 
or  else  give  up  the  system  of  water-carriage  alto- 
gether. It  is  useless  to  apply  mechanical  closures 
to  our  smaller  traps  if  we  leave  the  large  water- 
closet  traps  without  them. 

It  has  been  shown  by  Dr.  Carmichael  and  others 
that  if  a  water-seal  be  properly  maintained  against 
evaporation  and  siphonage,  or  destruction  from  any 
cause,  the  amount  of  sewer  gas  that  can  pass 
through  in  twenty-four  hours,  even  under  the  worst 
conditions,  but  with  a  ventilated  soil-pipe,  is  infini- 
tesimal and  absolutely  harmless,  and  that  disease- 
germs  cannot  pass  at  all  through  water  at  rest  at 
normal  temperatures.  Dr.  Carmichael  also  experi- 
mented with  an  unventilated  soil-pipe,  and  found 
here  that  the  quantity  of  carbonic-acid  gas,  the 
largest  component  of  sewer  gas,  given  off  from  the 
traps  in  twenty-four  hours  was  less  than  that 
obtained  "  when  a  bottle  of  lemonade  was  opened," 
and  less  than  that  which  is  exhaled  by  a  man  in 
five  minutes. 

As  for  the  ammonia,  sulphuretted  hvdrogen,  and 
other  gases  or  vapors  which  accompany  the  carbonic 
acid,  their  combined  amount,  even  under  the  un- 
favorable conditions  of  a  foul  sewer  and  unventila- 
ted soil-pipe,  was  hardly  equal  to  the  one  thou- 
sandth part  of  that  of  carbonic  acid,  and  this 
amount  diffused  in  twenty-four  hours  through  the 
atmosphere  of  a  house  is  evidently  absolutely  insig- 
nificant and  harmless.  With  a  ventilated  soil- 
pipe  the  quantity  which  can  pass  through  the  water- 
seal  was  found  to  be  about  four  times  less,  proba- 
bly far  less  than  what  would  come  into  our  city 
houses  through  the  doors  and  windows  from  the 
ventilating  openings  in  the  streets  of  the  public 
sewers. 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE. 

Drs.  Carmichael,  Pumpelly  and  Smith,  Naegeli, 
Wernich,  Miquel,  and  others  have  shown  that 
disease-germs  and  bacteria  generally  have  the  same 
"  mechanical  affinity  "  for  water  which  we  observe 
in  all  solid  particles,  particularlv  of  organic  nature. 
They  cannot  rise  spontaneously  from  the  surface  of 
water  at  rest,  and  at  the  normal  temperature  of  our 
houses.  It  is  only  when  the  surface  is  violently 
agitated,  or  when  gaseous  bubbles  rise  to  the  top 
and  burst,  that  these  particles  are  released  and 
dissipated  in  the  atmosphere.  With  a  ventilated 
soil-pipe  no  such  effervescence  in  the  water  of  a  trap 
can  take  place,  and  the  agitation  of  its  surface 
caused  by  properly  arranged  flushing  does  not  throw 
water  out  of  the  trap  nor  allow  of  the  escape  of 
any  germs  of  disease,  for  any  water  which  may  be 
washed  up  on  the  sides  of  the  trap  above  the 
normal  water-line  is  quietly  carried  down  again  by 
the  upper  flushing  stream  and  swept  into  the  sewer. 

The  experiments  of  Dr.  Carmichael  resemble 
absolute  demonstrations  and  may  be  accepted  as 
conclusive.  He  concludes  his  report  as  follows : 
"  Water-traps  are,  therefore,  for  the  purpose  for 
which  they  are  employed,  that  is,  for  the  exclusion 
from  houses  of  injurious  substances  contained  in 
the  soil-pipe,  perfectly  trustworthy.  They  exclude 
the  soil-pipe  atmosphere  to  such  an  extent  that 
what  escapes  through  the  water  is  so  little  in  amount 
and  so  purified  by  infiltration  as  to  be  perfectly 
harmless,  and  they  exclude  entirely  all  germs  and 
particles,  including,  without  doubt,  the  specific 
germs  or  contagia  of  disease,  which  we  have  already 
seen  are,  so  far  as  known,  distinctly  particulate." 

Tightness  of  Joints.  A  fourth  principle  is  that 
all  joints  should  be  permanently  tight,  and  to  secure 
this  evident  desideratum  no  material  should  be  used 


10  THE   PRINCIPLES    OF 

in  jointing  which  is  injuriously  affected  by  any  of 
the  substances  brought  in  contact  with  them  or  by 
movement  produced  by  changes  of  temperature, 
concussion,  or  shrinkage. 

Soundness  of  Material.  A  fifth  principle  is  that 
all  the  material  used  be  sound,  and  all  pipes  of  even 
thickness  and  capable  of  resisting  a  suitable 
pressure-test. 

Ventilation.  A  sixth  principle  is  that  all  the 
main  lines  of  soil  and  drain  pipes  be  thoroughly 
ventilated  from  end  to  end. 

Flushing.  A  seventh  principle  is  that  all  parts 
of  the  waste  receptacles  and  pipes  be  thoroughly 
flushed  with  water  from  end  to  end  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  remove  all  foul  matter  instantly  from  the 
house  as  soon  as  it  is  generated. 

Automatic  Operation.  An  eighth  principle  is  that 
the  working  of  all  parts  of  the  plumbing  system 
should  be  as  far  as  possible  automatic. 

Noiselessness.  A  ninth  principle  is  that  the 
operation  of  all  parts  of  the  work  should  be  noise- 
less. 

Economy  and  Prevention  of  Water-waste.  Finally, 
all  parts  of  the  work  should  be  economical  in  con- 
struction and  designed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  avoid 
the  chances  of  waste  of  water  through  leakage. 

These  ten  broad  principles  are  not  only  accepted 
by  all  the  leading  sanitarians,  but  are  self-evident 
and  may  be  at  once  adopted  as  axioms  without  dis- 
cussion. In  the  manner  of  applying  them  in  prac- 
tice, however,  we  do  not  find  the  same  universal 
harmony.  Where  all  are  in  accord  I  shall  make  no 
reference  to  authorities.  But  where  there  is  a  dif- 
ference of  opinion  among  experts  I  shall  call  atten- 
tion to  the  fact,  so  that  each  one  present  may 
form  an  independent  judgment  of  his  own. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


11 


The  first  subject  we  shall  consider  will  be  the 
trap. 

Its  form  depends  upon  the  nature  of  the  work  it 
is  called  upon  to  do  ;  the  form  which  is  suitable  for 
a  water-closet  being  quite  unsuitable  for  other 
fixtures. 

The  agencies  which  tend  to  destroy  the  water- 
seal  and  efficiency  of  traps  are  :  siphonage,  evapo- 
ration, back  pressure,  capillary  attraction,  self- 
siphonage,  leakage,  and  the  accumulation  of  sedi- 
ment. These  agencies  must  therefore  all  be  con- 
sidered in  the  design  of  our  trap.  What  form 
shall  we  give  it  to  enable  it  successfully  to  with- 
stand them  ? 

We  find  that  if  we  adopt 
the  simplest  possible  form, 
that  of  the  S  trap,  which  con- 
sists merely  of  a  bend  in  the 
pipe  deep  enough  to  make  a 
seal,  we  obtain  a  device  which, 
with  proper  flushing,  is  suffi- 
ciently self-cleansing  and  fur- 
nishes the  easiest  outlet  for 
the  water.  But  it  is  unable 
to  do  any  more  without  ex- 
ternal aid,  and  quickly  loses 
its  seal  under  the  slightest  dis-  Fis- 2-  Ordinary  s  trap, 
turbance  of  atmospheric  pressure  produced  by  a 
sudden  flow  of  water  through  the  pipes  with  which 
it  is  connected. 

Three  methods  have  been  employed  with  a  view 
to  preventing  the  destruction  of  the  seal  by  siphon- 
age. 

One  is  to  ventilate  each  trap  by  connecting  it  with 
a  special  ventilating  pipe  constructed  for  the  pur- 
pose. 


12  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

A  second  is  to  increase  the  size  of  the  upcast  limb 
of  the  trap  until  it  becomes  a  "  pot,"  or  "  reservoir," 
trap  large  enough  to  accomplish  the  same  result 
without  external  aid. 

A  third  method  is  to  construct  the  trap  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  render  it  both  autisiphonic  and  self- 
cleansing  at  the  same  time. 

The  first  method  adds  greatly  to  the  cost  and 
complication  of  the  work.  It  has  given  rise  to  the 
so-called  "trap-vent"  law,  which  rigidly  requires 
every  trap,  under  all  circumstances,  to  be  venti- 
lated. 

In  regard  to  the  practical  working  of  trap  venti- 
lation two  things  have  been  found  :  — 

First,  that  it  is  not  always  efficient  in  preventing 
siphonage. 

Second,  that  it  is  always  more  or  less  active  in 
destroying  the  seal  through  evaporation. 

Nevertheless,  this  method  still  has  a  few  advocates 
of  recognized  ability.  But  they  now  adhere  to  it 
chiefly,  if  not  entirely,  on  account  of  an  alleged 
indirect  advantage  produced  by  the  air-current  in 
partially  oxidizing  foulness  in  the  waste-pipes. 

The  second  method  is  both  inexpensive  and 
simple  and  is  much  more  efficient  in  resisting 
siphonic  action  than  the  first.  It  has,  however,  the 
serious  disadvantage  of  involving  the  use  of  cess- 
pools or  filth-retainers  in  the  house,  and  such  re- 
tention is  in  violation  of  a  leading  principle  of  sani- 
tary drainage  which  calls  for  complete  removal  of 
foul  matters  from  the  premises  the  instant  they 
are  generated. 

This  method  has  however  a  very  large  number  of 
advocates  who  consider  the  retention  of  a  limited 
quantity  of  filth  in  the  trap  less  of  an  evil  than  the 
dangers  of  difficulties  coming  from  trap-venting. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  13 

They  claim  that  a  guard  which  is  only  sometimes 
reliable  is  worse  than  none  at  all  as  giving  a  false 
sense  of  security,  and  that  the  purification  of  the 
branch  waste-pipes  can  be  effectually  accomplished 
by  powerful  water-flushing,  making  the  induction  of 
the  air-current  for  this  purpose  quite  superfluous. 
They  find,  moreover,  that  abundant  aeration  goes 
on  without  the  aid  of  the  vent-pipe  both  from 
diffusion  of  the  air  in  the  ventilated  soil-pipe,  and 
from  the  powerful  influx  of  air  induced  with,  and 
after,  the  water-flushing  at  each  usage  of  the  fix- 
ture. 

The  third  method  is  the  simplest  and  least  ex- 
pensive of  all.  It  is  more  reliable  than  either  of 
the  others  in  resisting  siphonic  action,  and  does 
away  with  the  serious  objection  of  the  second 
method  :  that  of  filth  retention. 

It  has  already  the  advocacy  of  many  of  the  lead- 
ing sanitarians  gf  the  country  and  promises  to  be 
universally  adopted  as  soon  as  it  becomes  generally 
known. 

Let  us  now  examine  these  three  methods  carefully 
in  detail,  since  the  question  is  not  only  one  of  the 
most  important  and  interesting  ones  in  the  whole 
domain  of  sanitary  plumbing,  but  its  investigation 
will  throw  light  on  every  other  part  of  the  subject. 

Trap-ventilating.  Until  very  lately  it  was 
supposed  that  trap  ventilation  afforded  a  reliable 
cure  for  siphonage,  and  under  that  supposition  the 
trap-vent  law  was  made.  This  law  has  been  in 
operation  but  a  very  few  months  and  in  a  few  large 
cities,  yet  it  has  been  in  force  long  enough  to  show 
in  the  first  place  that  it  is  by  no  means  able  to  do 
what  it  pretends  to  even  when  the  vent  is  newly  and 
skilfully  applied,  and  in  the  second  place  that  it 
gives  rise  to  new  evils  as  great  or  greater  than 


14  THE   PRINCIPLES   OF 

those  it  was  intended  to  obviate,  and  in  the  third 
place  that  the  vent-pipe  itself  tends  to  become  foul 
in  usage,  and  that  in  some  cases  the  accumulation 
of  foulness  goes  on  to  such  an  extent,  especially  at 
its  point  of  connection  with  the  trap,  as  to  com- 
pletely close  the  air-passage  and  destroy  its  oper- 
ation. 

We  will  first  test  the  efficiency  of  the  trap-vent 
when  it  is  new  and  clean  and  afterward  consider  the 
question  of  its  partial  or  complete  closure  by  filth 
accumulation. 

Tests  on  Traps  Newly  Ventilated.  In  making  these 
tests  two  points  have  been  very  carefully  followed, 
and  these  must  be  distinctly  understood. 

In  the  first  place  the  apparatus  and  arrangement 
used  is  precisely  the  same  in  character  as  is  found 
most  commonly  in  the  best  ordinary  practice. 

A  large  number  of  return  bends  and  a  very  long 
stack  of  piping  has  been  put  together  in  order  to 
permit  a  variety  of  different  tests  to  be  made  with 
a  single  compact  apparatus.  But  as  openings  have 
been  made  in  the  pipe  at  various  points,  we  are 
able  to  cut  off  one  or  all  of  the  bends  and  any  part  of 
the  length  of  pipe  at  will.  Hence,  the  apparatus 
may  be  made  to  correspond  with  that  in  any  form 
of  house  we  desire  to  imitate. 

In  the  second  place,  though  our  tests  will  be  very 
severe,  they  will,  nevertheless,  be  no  more  so  than 
is  often  encountered  in  practice.  Our  object  is  not 
to  show  what  usually  takes  place  but  what  at  any 
time  may  take  place. 

We  do  not  of  course  pretend  to  say  that  a  new 
vent-pipe  can  never  protect  a  trap,  but  that  it  can- 
not always  be  relied  upon,  and  that  this  being  the 
case,  it  affords  a  false  sense  of  security,  and  is 
therefore  worse  than  nothing,  for  we  can  never 
tell  at  what  moment  it  will  fail  in  its  duty. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


15 


If  we  are  to  be  forced  by  the   law   to   put  our 
clients  to  the  great  expense  and  danger  of  ventilat- 


Fijf.  3.    Apparatus  used  for  trap  testing. 

ing  every  trap,  we  have  a  right  to  demand  :  first,  that 
the  means  employed  shall  actually  afford  us  the  se- 
curity it  pretends  to,  and  not  fail  at  the  first  critical 


16  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

moment,  and  second,  that  no  other  simpler  and 
better  means  exist  for  securing  the  desired  results. 

Our  apparatus  consists  of  a  stack  of  four-inch 
soil-pipe  with  two  ordinary  plumbing  fixtures  ten  feet 
above  the  wastes  of  the  traps  to  be  tested.  On  the 
left  is  a  Jennings  closet  and  on  the  right  a  Zane  : 
kinds  which  have  been  perhaps  until  lately  the  most 
popular  in  this  country. 

Fig.  3  represents  the  apparatus  used.  The  dis- 
tance from  the  floor  to  the  upper  platform  which 
supports  the  water-closets  is  fourteen  and  a  half 
feet.  From  the  floor  to  the  ceiling  is  seventeen  feet. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  explain  to  the  present 
audience  that  the  smooth  bends  and  returns  we 
have  used  add  but  very  slightly  to  the  friction. 

Smooth  bends  of  a  radius  equal  to,  or  greater 
than,  the  diameter  of  the  pipe  are  found  to  have 
very  little  effect  in  retarding  the  flow  of  fluids.  To 
show  just  the  effect  such  bends  produce  in  the 
present  case  we  have  provided  openings  at  different 
points  in  the  length  of  the  piping  and  after  experi- 
menting with  all  the  bends,  we  will  make  other  tests 
without  them  or  with  only  a  portion  of  them,  and 
compare  the  results.  We  have  used  the  ordinary 
two-inch  iron  pipe  for  back  ventilation. 

Just  above  the  floor  of  this  room  we  have  pro- 
vided two  Y  branches  for  the  trap  waste-pipes  to  be 
tested,  using  ordinary  one  and  a  half -inch  bath  or 
basin  lead  waste-pipe  of  the  average  length.  We 
find  the  length  of  these  branches  within  reasonable 
limits  does  not  appreciably  affect  the  siphoning 
action. 

Experiments  on  a  one  and  a  half-inch  S  trap.  The 
first  test  we  will  make  on  an  ordinary  one  and  a  half- 
inch  S  trap  unventilated.  The  soil-pipe  we  leave 
full  length.  The  seal  is  two  inches  deep. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  17 

(Discharge  of  Z  and  J  together.)  We  see  that  a 
single  discharge  of  the  two  closets  has  completely 
destroyed  the  seal  in  a  second,  leaving  scarcely  a 
drop  of  water  in  the  trap. 

If  we  shorten  the  soil-pipe  one  half  by  removing 
the  plug  at  forty-five  feet  length,  we  find  substan- 
tially the  same  result.  (Discharge  of  Z  and  J 
together.)  The  seal  is  again  instantly  destroyed. 

This  is  the  simplest  possible  illustration  of  the 
phenomena  of  trap  siphon  age,  and  so  far  the  result 
is  probably  familiar  to  most  of  the  audience  here 
to-night.  All  are  aware  that  an  unventilated  lava- 
tory S  trap  with  even  an  unusually  deep  seal  pos- 
sesses scarcely  any  power  to  resist  siphonage. 
When  the  falling  water  in  the  soil-pipe  produces 
the  partial  vacuum  behind  it  as  it  descends,  if  the 
soil-pipe  extension  above  it  is  short  and  closed  at 
the  top,  the  action  is  at  its  maximum  because  there 
is  very  little  air  to  expand.  If  the  pipe  is  short 
and  open  it  is  at  its  minimum.  If  it  is  long  and 
closed  still  the  action  is  powerful,  but  if  it  is  long 
and  open  above,  a  medium  effect  is  produced, 
and  this  is  the  condition  we  have  to-night  in  our 
apparatus. 

Let  us  next  see  what  the  effect  of  a  discharge 
of  a  single  closet  will  be,  leaving  the  soil-pipe 
forty-five  feet  long.  This  cuts  off  three  bends, 
leaving  it  four. 

(Discharge  of  Z  alone.)  The  Zane  closet  alone 
has  siphoned  out  the  trap  in  a  single  discharge. 
Let  us  try  the  Jennings  alone. 

(Discharge  of  J  alone.)  The  Jennings  alone  has 
also  instantly  unsealed  the  trap. 

Thus  we  see  that  either  a  Zane  or  a  Jennings 
plunger-closet  is  easily  able  to  destroy  the  seal  of 
an  ordinary  S  trap  under  the  simplest  conditions  of 


18  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

plumbing.  Any  other  form  of  plunger-closet  or 
any  valve  or  properly  constructed  hopper-closet 
would  probably  do  the 'same. 

Let  us  now  ventilate  our  trap  with  a  vent-pipe 
the  full  size  of  the  bore  of  the  trap.  Leaving  the 
soil  and  vent  pipes  the  full  length  we  will  discharge 
the  closets  as  before. 

(Discharge  of  Z  and  J.)  The  first  discharge  has 
reduced  the  seal  from  two  inches  to  one  and  a  half 
inch.  It  will  be  observed  that  our  vent-pipe  is 
actually  considerably  larger  than  the  bore  of  the 
pipe  which  is  contracted  at  the  bends,  so  that  the 
protection  afforded  by  this  is  greater  than  it  would 
be  in  ordinary  practice. 

Another  dischai'ge  has  lowered  the  seal  to  one  fourth 
of  an  inch.  A  third  discharge  has  completely  de- 
stroyed the  seal,  leaving  an  open  passageway  into 
the  house  for  sewer  gas. 

Thus  we  see  that  with  the  long  stack  of  pipe  our 
ventilation  has  signallv  failed.  We  will  now  cut 
off  half  the  bends  and  half  the  length  both  of  soil 
and  vent  pipe,  leaving  a  medium  length  of  each  of 
forty-five  feet. 

A  discharge  of  the  closets  has  lowered  the  seal 
to  one  and  one-half  inch.  Four  discharges  have 
destroyed  the  seal. 

At  the  last  lecture  we  found  it  possible  to  break 
the  seal  by  discharging  only  one  of  the  closets  at  a 
time.  But  it  required  eight  repetitions  of  the  dis- 
charge to  do  this,  and  we  shall  accordingly  omit  the 
experiment  to-night  for  want  of  time  and  because 
our  subject  extends  over  a  wider  field  than  before. 
Our  next  experiment  will  be  with  an  ordinary  one 
and  one-fourth  inch  vent-pipe  which  is  really  the 
size  of  the  trap  under  consideration.  Omitting  the 
tests  with  a  medium  length  of  soil  and  vent  pipe 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  19 

which  broke  the  seal  of  this  trap  in  two  discharges, 
and  also  the  test  with  a  single  closet,  we  will 
shorten  the  ventilation-pipe  to  fifteen  feet  by  cutting 
off  the  two-inch  iron  pipe  and  all  its  bends  alto- 
gether. This  gives  us  a  shorter  vent-pipe  than  we 
should  ever  be  likely  to  encounter  in  practice. 
Hence,  if  the  friction  produced  in  this  short  length 
of  pipe  is  enough  to  prevent  the  effectiveness  of  the 
vent,  anything  longer  than  this  would  certainly  de- 
stroy its  power.  The  soil-pipe  is  of  medium  length. 

Discharge  ofZ  and  J.  Four  simultaneous  discharges 
of  the  closets  have  destroyed  the  seal  of  our  trap, 
fully  vented  with  a  new  in  the  manner  required  by 
the  law,  showing  our  expensive  venting  to  be  utterly 
untrustworthy,  even  under  the  simplest  conditions. 
In  the  experiments  made  for  the  City  Board  of 
Health  the  same  results  were  obtained  by  the  dis- 
charge of  a  single  plunger-closet. 

Four-inch  by  four-inch  Y.  We  have,  up  to  this 
time,  used  a  four-inch  by  two-inch  Y  branch  to 
connect  our  lead  branch  with  the  main  soil-pipe.  In 
our  experiments  for  the  Board  of  Health  we  were 
severely  criticized  by  The  Sanitary  Engineer  for 
using  a  four-inch  by  four-inch  Y  branch,  which,  we 
were  told,  would  produce  an  action  at  least  four 
times  as  powerful  as  the  smaller  branch.  In  order  to 
test  this  we  will  connect  our  waste  with  a  four-inch 
by  four-inch  branch  immediately  below  the  one  we 
have  been  using,  and  repeat  the  last  test  under  the 
new  conditions.  I  would  caution  those  of  the 
audience  who  are  seated  nearest  the  trap  to  hold 
firmly  to  their  seats,  which  have  been  tightly 
screwed  to  the  floor  in  order  to  prevent  them  from 
being  sucked  bodily  into  the  drains  by  the  pro- 
digious siphonage  power  of  our  four  by  four-inch 
branch. 


20  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

(Discharge  of  Z  and  «7.)  We  find  110  appreciable 
cliff ereuce  in  the  two  Ys,  and  I  think  those  gentle- 
men can  now  safely  release  their  hold  upon  the 
furniture. 

We  have  records  of  comparative  tests  made  with 
two  such  Ys,  made  in  exactly  the  same  position  on 
the  apparatus,  showing  a  greater  rather  than  a 
feebler  action  produced  by  the  smaller  Y. 

Experiments  with  a  Partially  Clogged  Vent-pipe. 
When  the  mouth  of  the  vent-pipe  has  been  partially 
closed  by  gradual  deposit  of  sediment,  the  supply  of 
air  through  it  is  proportionally  retarded,  and  it  be- 
comes less  and  less  of  a  safeguard  against  siphonage. 
We  have  made  a  great  many  experiments  in  this  field 
and  found  the  resistance  exactly  proportioned  to  the 
size  of  the  vent-pipe. 

In  the  tests  for  the  Board  of  Health  we  used  a 
straight  stack  of  pipes  without  any  bends.  The 
siphouic  action  was  somewhat  more  severe  in  all 
the  tests. 

Secondary  Office  of  the  Vent-pipe.  It  remains 
now  to  examine  the  secondary  office  of  the  trap 
vent-pipe,  namely,  the  aeration  of  the  branch  waste- 
pipes,  pi'omotiug  decomposition  in  them,  and  carry- 
ing off  the  gaseous  products  of  such  decomposi- 
tion. 

Some  years  ago,  before  it  became  customary  to 
ventilate  all  the  main  lines  of  soil  and  waste  pipe, 
as  all  sanitary  engineers  are  agreed  in  recommend- 
ing now,  there  accumulated  in  the  upper  part  of  the 
pipe-system  large  volumes  of  dangerous  and  corro- 
sive gas  generated  by  the  decomposition  of  the 
heavy  deposits  in  the  large  soil-pipes  throughout 
their  entire  length.  These  gases,  never  liberated  as 
they  are  now  by  a  constant  current  of  fresh  air 
passing  through  the  main  pipes,  sometimes  formed 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE.  21 

in  such  large  quantities  as  to  eat  through  the  metal 
and  escape  into  the  house.  The  water-flushing 
from  the  feeble  pan-closets  of  that  time  was  quite 
insufficient  to  purify  the  main-pipe  lines,  and  seri- 
ous difficulties  arose. 

Now,  however,  the  case  is  very  different.  All 
our  main  pipes  are  thoroughly  ventilated,  and  a  far 
more  liberal  flushing  is  occasioned  by  the  use  of 
modern  hopper-closets.  This  comparatively  fresh 
air  of  the  soil-pipe  distributes  itself  by  diffusion 
through  the  branch  wastes,  and  gases  can  no  longer 
collect  to  any  harmful  degree  unless  they  are  of 
unusual  length  and  insufficiently  flushed. 

Consider  the  case  of  a  short-branch  waste-pipe 
leading  from  a  well-constructed  washbasin  and  con- 
nected with  a  well- ventilated  soil-pipe. 

Fresh  air  is  constantly  passing  through  the  soil- 
pipe,  carrying  off  the  products  of  combustion  as 
fast  as  they  are  formed.  If  the  lavatory  be  fre- 
quently used  and  properly  constructed  the  short- 
branch  waste-pipe  is  scoured  from  end  to  end  and 
kept  very  free  from  foul  matter.  Fresh  air  is  dif- 
fused easily  from  the  soil-pipe  through  this  short 
branch  as  far  up  as  to  the  trap.  If  the  fixture  is 
rarely  used  the  last  thin  deposit  of  soap  dries  up  on 
the  sides  of  the  pipe,  and  what  little  decomposition 
goes  on  then  is  inappreciable,  and  the  products  are 
removed  by  diffusion,  or,  if  they  are  absorbed  in 
the  water  of  the  trap,  what  could  escape  from  its 
surface  would,  as  we  have  seen,  be  absolutely  infin- 
itesimal and  harmless.  Not  so  if  we  ventilate  this 
short-branch  waste,  as  now  required  by  law.  A  few 
days  is  sufficient  to  evaporate  out  all  the  water  from 
the  trap,  and  soil-pipe  air  may  then  enter  the  house 
freely.  This  is  no  careless  assertion  founded  on 
theory.  It  is  the  result  of  a  series  of  very  careful 


22  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

experiments  made  by  myself,  and  published  in  the 
sanitary  journals,  and  it  is  the  experience  of  ex- 
perts who  have  examined  the  working  of  the  trap- 
vent  law  during  the  short  period  since  its  enforce- 
ment. 

Consider  next  the  long-branch  wastes  of  lavato- 
ries. We  will  suppose  the  fixture  to  be  a  washbasin 
or  bathtub  used  every  day.  If  the  outlet  be  prop- 
erly constructed  the  discharge  of  the  fixture  will  fill 
the  pipe  so  full  as  completely  to  drive  out  the  air  that 
was  in  it  and  fill  it  with  a  volume  of  perfectly  fresh  air 
from  the  room.  Every  one  has  observed  fresh  air 
being  sucked  into  the  outlet  of  a  lavatory,  at  the  time 
of  discharge,  in  volume  sufficient  to  renew  the  air  of 
the  branch  waste-pipe  many  times  over,  even  with 
basins  improperly  constructed  as  they  are. 

We  will  suppose  the  fixture  to  be  very  seldom 
used,  say  not  oftener  than  once  a  week  or  month,  as 
in  a  spare  room.  The  last  charge  of  water  passes 
off  and  the  pipe  dries  up.  I  believe  that  what  de- 
composition would  then  go  on  in  pipes  connected 
with  a  properly  constructed  lavatory  would  be  utter- 
ly harmless  ;  and  more  than  this,  I  believe  there  is 
no  case  on  record  of  harmful  corrosion  ever  being 
found  on  such  branch  wastes.  It  certainly  would 
not  do  to  ventilate  the  trap  of  such  a  fixture  left  in 
periodical  disuse  ;  for  evaporation  would  unseal  its 
trap  in  its  intervals  of  rest,  and  far  greater  damage 
would  arise  than  could  come  from  the  unventilated 
pipe.  Those  who  do  not  possess  this  degree  of  con- 
fidence have  only  to  arrange  their  fixtures  in  such  a 
way  as  to  avoid  long-branch  wastes,  and  the  diffi- 
culty will  for  them  be  avoided. 

Consider  now  the  question  of  branch  wastes  from 
kitchen  and  pantry  sinks.  Every  one  knows  that 
grease  and  sediment  from  these  fixtures  will  at  once 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  23 

clog  up  in  time  any  part  of  a  trap  not  scoured  by  the 
water.  We  find  the  upper  part  of  ordinary  pot-traps 
always  fouled  with  grease  in  such  cases.  The  mouth 
of  the  vent-pipe  taken  from  the  top  of  such  a  trap 
also  becomes  similarly  clogged,  and  it  is  probable 
that  in  whatever  wav  the  vent-pipe  be  attached  to 
the  trap  of  a  sink  it  will  surely  become  clogged  and 
inoperative  in  time. 

The  only  case  in  which  trap  ventilation  can  be 
recommended,  as  it  seems  to  me,  is  in  connection 
with  certain  kinds  of  water-closets.  The  consider- 
ation of  this  branch  of  my  subject  must  be  left  for 
another  time. 

I  find,  therefore,  no  advantage  whatever  in  trap 
ventilation,  with  the  above  possible  exception. 
There  are  several  disadvantages,  which,  summed  up 
briefly,  are  these :  First,  it  destroys  the  seal  by 
evaporation  when  ordinary  S  traps  are  used  and 
when  the  vent-pipe  is  taken  from  the  crown,  as  the 
law  in  some  places  requires.  I  find  that  if  the  vent- 
pipe  be  taken  from  some  points  six  inches  or  more 
below  the  crown  evaporation  does  not  go  on,  or  it 
goes  on  so  slowly  as  to  be  harmless  with  traps  hold- 
ing a  reasonably  large  body  of  water.  With  S 
traps,  however,  it  is  necessary  to  ventilate  at  the 
crown,  if  they  should  be  used  at  all,  in  order  to 
prevent  self-siphonage. 

Second.  The  vent-pipe  does  not  accomplish  its 
objects,  and  hence  affords  a  false  sense  of  security. 

Third.  It  increases  the  unsecured  area  of  the 
trap,  making  it  a  cesspool.  The  ventilated  S  trap 
is  used  instead  of  a  reservoir-trap  by  the  advo- 
cates of  trap  ventilation  for  the  sake  of  avoiding 
an  unsecured  chamber.  But  in  doing  so  they  add 
a  sediment  chamber,  which  is  not  only  greater  in 
extent  of  surface,  more  easily  fouled  and  less  easily 


THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 


cleansed,  than  that  in  the  pot-trap,  but  one  which  is 
far  more  dangerous,  inasmuch  as  its  fouling,  even 
to  a  limited  extent,  involves  the  destruction  of 
the  whole  system.  This  chamber  is  as  certain  to 
become  inoperative  after  more  or  less  use  as  is  any 
reservoir  or  cesspool  in  a  trap  to 
become  clogged  with  deposit.  It 
is  so  placed  and  of  such  a  form 
that  it  must  inevitably  receive  spat- 
terings  from  the  filth-laden  waste- 
water,  without  benefiting  by  its 
scour.  I  have  found,  by  repeated 
test,  that  the  water  discharged 
from  a  washbasin  with  a  large  out- 
let and  trap  placed  a  foot  or  more 
below  is  thrown  up  over  ten  inches 
into  the  vent-flue  at  every  dis- 
charge. Thus  a  very  large  sedi- 
ment chamber  is  formed.  The  de- 
Fig.  4.  Trap  vent  posit  of  sediment  may  be  rapid  or 
clogged  at  the  mouth,  glow,  according  to  circumstances, 
in  some  cases  requiring  years  to  reduce  the  size  of 
the  vent-opening  to  the  point  of  inefficiency.  In 
others  this  will  occur  in  a  few  days. 

Fourth.  It  retards  the  outflow  of  the  waste- 
water  about  thirty-three  per  cent.  This  is  owing  to 
the  friction  of  the  air-current  entering  with  the 
water  during  the  discharge. 

Fifth.  It  renders  the  discharge  noisy.  The 
same  air-suction  which  delays  the  water  produces 
a  disagreeable  roar  when  the  water  discharges 
rapidly. 

Sixth.  It  complicates  the  plumbing  and  adds  to 
the  danger  of  leakage  through  bad  jointing  and 
increased  material. 

Seventh.  It  aggravates  the  danger  arising  from 
capillary  attraction  ;  and,  finally, 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


Eighth.  It  seriously  increases  the  cost  of  plumb- 
ing, an  increase  which  amounts  to  as  much  as  from 
five  to  ten  per  cent,  on  the  total  cost  of  the 


Fig.  5.    Complexity  with  insecurity. 

plumbing  in  new  work  and  indefinitely  in  old  work 
in  which  the  trap  ventilation  sometimes  becomes  by 
far  the  greatest  part  of  the  work  to  be  done. 


Fig.  6.    Simplicity  with  security. 

Figs.  5  and  6  represent  three  fixtures  plumbed 
by  the  two  different  methods,  the  first  with,  and  the 
second  without,  trap  ventilation.  In  the  first  draw- 


26  THE    PRINCIPLES    OP 

ing  the  overflow-passage  and  the  house-side  of  the 
trap  are  ventilated  as  well  as  the  sewer-side,  and 
the  loss  of  the  water-seal  through  evaporation  is 
very  rapid.  This  double  trap  ventilation  is  not 
common,  but  vet  is  occasionally  carried  into  execu- 
tion by  some  of  our  more  radical  enthusiasts  for 
branch- waste  venting. 

In  the  second  drawing  "  Sanitas  "  traps  are  used 
which  require  no  ventilation  to  prevent  siphonage. 

A  washbasin,  having  an  outlet  large  enough  to 
fill  the  waste-pipe  and  trap  "  full-bore,"  scours  them 
and  keeps  them  free  from  deposit. 

The  use  of  a  urinal  is  rarely  to  be  recommended. 
It  is  only  introduced  here  for  purposes  of  illustra- 
tion. 

Second  Method.  Let  us  now  examine  the  second 
method  of  obtaining  security  against  siphonage. 
This  consists  in  the  use  of  a  large  unventilated 
pot,  or  reservoir,  trap.  A  small  pot-trap  will  not 
resist  siphonic  action,  but  a  large  one  will.  Their 
power  of  resistance  is  exact!}'  in  proportion  to 
their  size.  Nothing  smaller  than  an  eight-inch 
pot- trap,  which  I  have  here,  can  be  relied  upon 
in  all  cases.  A  six-inch  pot-trap  will  sometimes 
be  siphoned  out  by  discharges  occurring  in  common 
practice.  A  five-inch  pot-trap  siphons  out  much 
easier.  An  ordinary  four-inch  trap  has  very  little 
resisting  power  unless  its  seal  is  unusually  deep. 
Three-inch  and  two-inch  traps  are  altogether  useless. 

We  will  test  practically  the  action  of  siphonage 
on  a  four-inch  pot-trap  of  the  usual  depth  of  seal. 
(Discharge  of  Z  and  J. )  We  see  that  three  dis- 
charges are  sufficient  to  break  the  seal  of  this  trap. 
In  our  last  lecture  we  found  that  either  the  Zane  or 
the  Jennings  closet  alone  was  able  to  destroy  the 
seal  in  eight  and  six  discharges  respectively. 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE. 


27 


Thus  we  see  that  only  the  largest  sizes  of  pot- 
traps  are  reliable.  To  be  secure  in  all  cases,  if  we 
use  pot- traps,  we  are  required  to  have  them  as 
much  as  six  or  eight  inches  in  diameter,  and  con- 
stantly inspect  them  to  see  that  they  are  free  from 
deposit.  Traps  of  this  size  are  veritable  cesspools 
and  as  such  are  to  be  avoided  wherever  it  is  pos- 
sible. They  are,  moreover,  expensive.  A  plumb- 
er's scale  of  charges  for  these  traps  is  at  the  rate 
of  one  dollar  for  every  inch  in  the  diameter  of  the 
trap.  Thus  a  five-inch,  six-inch,  and  eight-inch 
pot-trap  costs  $5,  $6,  and  $8  respectively. 


Fig.  7.    D  trap  clogged. 


Fig. 


The  pot-trap  is,  morever,  bulky  and  unscientific 
in  construction.  Its  cleanout  cap  is  faultily  ar- 
ranged at  the  top,  where,  if  improperly  adjusted, 
it  will  allow  the  escape  of  sewer  gas  without 
warning.  The  cleanout  cap  of  a  trap  should  always 
be  wholly  or  in  part  below  the  normal  level  of  the 
standing  water  in  order  that  if  an  unsound  joint 
occur  it  will  at  once  be  detected  by  an  escape  of 
water  and  the  defect  remedied.  It  is  better  to  en- 


28  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

danger  the  floors  or  plastering  than  the  life  or  health 
of  the  owner. 

To  ensure  tightness  the  plumber  is  obliged  to 
screw  the  cap  on  so  hard  that  the  house-owner  is 
rarely  able  to  unscrew  it  for  examination  or  cleans- 
ing. Hence  the  plumber  has  to  be  sent  for.  Ill- 
feeling  is  aroused  and  the  plumber  is  referred  to  in 
terms  often  lacking  in  refinement  and  politeness. 

Under  the  name  "  reservoir  "  traps  I  include  all 
water-seal  traps  which  are  not  self -scouring.  It 
includes  the  old-fashioned  D  trap  (Fig.  7),  the 
Globe  trap,  and  the  Bottle  trap  (Fig.  8). 

Of  all  the  reservoir-traps,  the  common  pot- trap, 
bad  as  it  is,  is  the  best,  as  being  the  simplest. 

Balls,  valves,  and  gates  in  traps  add  little  or 
nothing  to  their  power  of  resisting  siphonage,  and 
have  no  longer  any  value  now  that  it  is  customary 
to  ventilate  the  drain  and  soil  pipes.  They  serve 
only  as  encumbrances  and  filth  collectors. 

We  come  finally  to  the  third  method  of  obtaining 
security  against  sewer  gas,  of  which  Fig.  6  forms 
the  general  illustration.  It  is  to  give  the  trap 
such  a  form  as  to  render  it  antisiphonic  and  self- 
cleansing  at  the  same  time. 

ANTI-SIPHONIC    TRAPS. 

Let  us  first  examine  the  action  of  fluids  in  traps 
when  they  are  subjected  to  siphoning  action  and  see 
if  it  is  possible  to  construct  a  trap  in  such  a  man- 
ner as  to  accomplish  these  results.  To  better  study 
the  movement  of  the  fluids  we  have  had  a  number 
of  S  and  pot  traps  constructed  wholly  of  glass. 

We  must  make  use  of  the  natural  forces  at  our 
command,  the  superior  gravity  and  adhesive  force 
of  water  over  air,  and  construct  our  trap  with  refer- 
ence to  the  laws  governing  these  forces  in  the  move- 
ment of  the  two  fluids. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


Examining  first  our  pot-trap.  Under  a  powerful 
siphonage  air  is  driven  through  the  water  in  the 
body  of  the  trap  in  the  manner  shown  in  this  draw- 
ing (Fig.  9).  A  quantity  of  water  is  projected  out 
of  the  trap  in  advance  of  the  air-column,  as  shown 
by  the  arrows.  If  the  action  were  continued  long 
enough  all  the  water  above  the  inlet-mouth,  even  in 


Fig.  9.    Movement  of  fluids  in  a  pot-trap. 

the  largest  pot- traps,  would  be  expelled.  It  will  be 
observed  that  part  of  the  water  is  forcibly  thrown 
up  against  the  top  of  the  body  of  the  trap,  whence 
it  is  deflected  back  in  the  form  of  spray  in  all  direc- 
tions. Part  of  the  spray,  however,  falls  across  the 
outlet-mouth,  and  is  sucked  out.  One  of  the  prin- 
cipal reasons  why  the  S  trap  is  so  easily  siphoned 
out  is  that  the  curve  at  the  top  conducts  the  water 
directly  into  the  outlet.  Some  form  of  reflecting 
surface  should  be  used  to  throw  the  water  back  into 
the  trap,  and  let  the  lighter  air  escape  to  supply  the 
vacuum  in  the  soil-pipe.  Such  a  reflecting  surface 


30 


THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 


is  found  in  the  flat  top  of  the  pot-trap  above  the 
outlet-mouth.  We  will  therefore  retain  this  useful 
feature,  but  reject  the  objectionable  one  of  the  ex- 
cess of  sectional  area  in  the  body  over  that  of  the 
inlet  and  outlet  arms,  and  we  have  our  first  modifi- 
cation, as  shown  in  Fig.  10.  The  reflecting  surface, 
however,  should  not  be  ar- 
ranged as  here  shown.  The 
pocket  increases  the  un- 
secured area  of  the  trap. 
It  is  true  it  is  no  worse  than 
the  mouth  of  a  ventilating 
pipe,  which  under  the  present 
law  it  is  customary  to  put  at 
this  place.  But  it  is  just  as 
certain  that  such  a  pocket  will 
become  clogged  in  time  as  it 
is  that  grease  and  filth  will 
deposit  a  sediment  on  every- 
thing with  which  it  comes  in 
contact.  The  higher  or  deeper 

Fig.  10.    First  modification.  the    pocket    the   more    readily 

will  the  deposit  be  formed.  A  shallow  pocket  might 
be  partially  scoured  by  the  force  of  the  water  pro- 
jected upward  against  it  by  momentum.  In  this 
case  a  certain  portion  of  each  deposit  of  filth  would 
be  washed  off  by  friction  and  the  process  of  clog- 
ging would  be  somewhat  retarded.  But  let  the 
pocket  be  deep  enough  and  there  will  then  be  parts 
which  will  be  within  the  reach  of  the  waste-water, 
but  beyond  its  scouring  effect.  The  spray  thrown 
up  by  momentum  will  at  this  height  have  lost  its 
power.  The  drops  of  dirty  water  will  simply  rise 
to  their  turning-point,  deposit  their  filth,  and  trickle 
back  again  into  the  trap.  The  ventilating  outlet 
forms  exactly  such  a  pocket.  At  a  certain  height 


BOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


above  the  crown  of  the  trap  the  inner  surface  of 
this  flue  will  receive  the  spatterings  of  the  filth-laden 
waste-water,  but  never  receive  its  scour.  Hence 
the  area  of  the  vent-opening  must  infallibly  con- 
tinue to  decrease  in  size  more  or  less  quickly,  ac- 
cording to  the  usage  of  the  fixture,  until  the  open- 
ing is  too  contracted  to  be  of  any  value  in  resisting 
the  action  of  siphonage  on  the  water-seal.  More- 
over, the  cool  ventilating  draught  helps  to  congeal 
the  fatty  vapors  arising  from  hot  waste-water  in  the 
trap  and  hastens  clogging.  We  will,  therefore, 
simply  retain  the  reflecting  sur- 
face but  reject  the  pocket.  Fur- 
thermore, we  will  slightly  contract 
the  inlet  and  outlet  mouths  at 
their  junction  with  the  body. 
This  allows  the  air  rushing 
through  the  body  of  the  trap  to 
pass  through  the  water  instead 
of  driving  it  out  before  it.  A 
very  slight  contraction  is  suffi- 
cient. These  two  modifications 
make  the  second  step  in  our 
improvement,  and  are  shown  in 
Fig.  11.  A  trap  was  constructed 
in  this  manner,  and  proved  to  be  Fi  „  Secondstep. 
very  much  stronger  in  resisting  Partial  contraction  of 
siphonic  action  than  an  S  trap  of  ffi'^dSSt'IT'S 
equal  depth  of  seal.  pocket. 

Still  our  trap  is  very  far  from  antisiphonic.  Re- 
ferring to  our  glass  pot- trap,  we  shall  see  that  the 
water  projected  violently  upward  from  the  surface, 
by  the  air-bubbles  rushing  through  the  standing 
water  under  the  influence  of  siphonage,  is  obliged 
to  pass  twice  by  the  mouth  of  the  outlet-pipe, 
once  before  and  once  after  reflection  against  the 


THE    PRINCIPLES    OP 


top,  and  that  it  is  at  these  moments  that  it  is 
sucked  out  and  lost.  That  part  of  the  spray 
which  happens  to  be  thrown  farthest  from  the 
mouth  of  the  outlet-pipe  will  be  seen  to  fall 
back  safely  into  the  trap ;  but  that  which  passes 
near  this  outlet,  either  in  rising  or  after  re- 
flection, is  drawn  out  by  the  concentrated  and 
powerful  suction  at  this  point  and  wasted.  And 
we  find  that  one  of  the  principal  reasons  why 
a  large  pot-trap  resists  siphonage  longer  than  a 
small  one  is  that  in  the  large  trap  the  spray  has  more 
space  above  the  surface  of  the  standing  water  than 
in  the  small  one,  so  that  a  smaller  proportion  of 
the  water  thrown  up  by  the  rushing  air-bubbles 
passes  within  the  influence  of  the  suction  at  the 
outlet-pipe.  If  our  reflecting  surface  could  be 
placed  below  instead  of  beyond  the  mouth  of  the 
outlet  this  loss  could  be  avoided.  Our  next  step 
must,  therefore,  consist  in  so 
placing  the  reflecting  surface. 
In  Fig.  12  this  has  been  ac- 
complished, but  in  an  awkward 
manner.  Before  this  surface 
can  come  into  service  the  level 
of  the  water  must  evidently  be 
reduced  to  the  level  shown  by 
the  shading  in  the  figure. 
Hence  the  perpendicular  part 
of  the  body  of  the  trap  above 
the  lower  reflecting  surface  is 
not  placed  to  ad  vantage.  Never- 
theless, this  trap  will  resist  a 
Fig.  12.  Third  step,  very  powerful  siphonic  action, 
even  as  it  is.  The  two  reflecting  surfaces,  the  lower 
and  the  upper,  are  so  effective  that  this  form  of  the 
trap  has  proved  more  tenacious  of  its  last  inch  or 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE. 


33 


two  of  seal  than  a  four-inch  pot-trap,  although  its 
diameter  is  nowhere  greater  than  that  of  the  outlet 
and  inlet  pipes. 

In  this  and  in  the  preceding  forms  the  depth  of 
seal  is  too  great  to  allow  of  a  free  and  rapid  dis- 
charge of  the  wastes.  The  air,  in  passing  through 
the  trap,  disturbs  nearly  all  the  water  in  it.  Our 
next  step  will  therefore  be  to  diminish  the  height  of 
the  water-column  through  which  the  air  has  to  pass, 
and  thus  reduce  the  disturbance  of  the  water  with- 
out lessening  its  volume.  It  may  be  done  by  laying 
the  body  of  the  trap  horizontal  instead  of  perpendi- 
cular, as  shown  in  Fig.  13.  This  immediately 


Fig.  13.    Fourth  step. 

gives  us  a  very  important  improvement  in  resisting 
power.  The  area  of  the  trap  is  no  greater  than  that 
in  Fig.  11,  but  it  is  found  to  offer  double  the 
resistance  to  siphonage.  Moreover,  while  the 
volume  of  water  is  the  same  as  in  Fig.  10,  the 
seal  is  not  so  deep.  Hence  the  flow  of  water 
through  this  trap  is  more  rapid  than  in  the  former, 
and  its  scouring  effect  correspondingly  increased. 
As  soon  as  the  water  in  this  trap  has  been  lowered 
to  the  point  indicated  in  the  drawing,  ample  space 
is  left  above  it  for  the  passage  of  the  air.  It  is 
evident  that  a  much  smaller  body  of  water  is  dis- 
turbed by  the  passage  of  the  air  than  is  the  case 
with  the  trap  shown  in  Fig.  11. 


34  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

Nevertheless,  the  trap  thus  made  is  not  yet  suffi- 
ciently antisiphonic.  It  is,  moreover,  awkward  in 
form  and  difficult  to  set  in  such  a  manner  that  it 
shall  remain  firm  in  place.  The  long  horizontal 
body  is  liable  to  sag  and  lose  its  form.  Moreover, 
a  single  reflecting  surface  is  insufficient  to  separate 
the  water  entirely  from  the  air,  and  a  strong  and 
long-continued  siphonic  action  destroys  its  seal. 
Other  improvements  are  evidently  necessary. 

A  fifth  step  consists  in  increasing  the  number  of 
reflecting  surfaces,  and  in  breaking  up  the  long 
horizontal  body  by  making  it 
return  upon  itself  in  a  quad- 
rangle, as  shown  in  perspective 
in  Fig.  14.  In  this  form  of 
the  trap  we  have  still  further 
greatly  increased  the  reflecting 
surfaces  and  the  power  of  resist- 
ance to  siphonic  action,  and  we 
are  now  able  to  dispense  with 
reflecting  pockets,  but  we  have 
obtained  a  trap  exceedingly 
difficult  to  manufacture,  awkward  in  appearance, 
and  troublesome  to  clean  out  in  case  of  accident,  as 
when  a  match  or  any  such  foreign  substance  is 
dropped  into  the  waste-pipe  and  becomes  lodged  in 
a  bend  of  the  trap.  This  form  of  trap  must  be 
simplified  so  as  to  render  it  practical,  without  losing 
any  of  the  advantages  we  have  thus  far  arrrived  at. 
Figs.  15  to  19  show  the  manner  in  which  this  may 
be  done,  and  the  arrangement  forms  the  final  step 
of  our  improvement.  We  have  here  retained  all 
the  reflecting  surfaces  ;  the  horizontal  body,  which 
allows  the  air  to  pass  above  the  water  after  a  small 
quantity  has  been  driven  out,  without  disturbing  the 
rest ;  and  the  slight  contraction  of  the  inlet  and  out- 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  35 

let  pipes  at  their  junction  with  the  body  of  the 
trap.  We  have  added  a  cylindrical  cleanout  cap  of 
glass,  and  obtained  an  apparatus  which  can  be 
readily  cast  in  lead  in  moulds  of  iron.  The  quad- 
rangular shape  of  the  horizontal 
body  is  retained,  but  the  two 
parallel  cylinders  are  brought  to- 
gether and  merged  into  a  single 
cylinder  having  a  central  partition 
about  two  thirds  of  its  length,  or 
extending  from  one  end  to  the  edge 
of  the  cleanout  cap,  which  at  the 
other  end  forms  about  one  third 
of  the  total  length  of  the  cylinder. 

In  ordinary  use  the  waste-water 
passes  through  this  trap  in  such  Fig.  is.  sixth  step, 
a  manner  as  to  act  to  the  best  "  Sanitas "  trap, 
advantage  in  scouring  it.  The  partition  wall  in"the 
centre  of  the  body  causes  the  water  to  scour  each 
side  in  succession.  Thus  while  in  outward  appear- 
ance the  body  resembles  a  small  pot-trap  placed 
horizontally  it  has  in  principle  the  self-scouring 
form  of  the  S  trap.  It  must  be  understood,  how- 
ever, that  like  the  S  trap  it  is  only  self -scour  ing 
when  properly  set,  namely  :  with  a  free  outlet  from 
the  bowl  somewhat  larger  than  the  inlet-arm  of  the 
trap  at  its  largest  part,  or  at  its  point  of  junction 
with  the  fixture.  If  set  under  a  fixture  giving  a 
clear  water-way  of  only  an  inch  or  of  half  an  inch, 
this  trap  will  not  scour  itself,  nor  will  the  waste- 
pipes  with  which  the  trap  is  connected.  A  good- 
sized  washbasin  holds,  up  to  its  overflow,  about 
two  gallons  of  water.  This  will  escape  through  an 
average  length  of  one  and  one-half  inch  waste- 
pipe,  running  full-bore  and  having  a  good  fall,  in 
about  three  seconds.  Hence,  through  such  a  pipe 


36 


THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 


the  water  rushes  at  a  rate  of  more  than  half  a  gallon 
a  second  and  fully  scours  the  pipes.  With  lava- 
tories constructed  on  this  principle,  the  argument 
for  trap  ventilation  based  on  the  supposition  that 
it  is  necessary  to  keep  the  branch  wastes  clean 
no  longer  holds  good. 


Fig.  16.    "  Sanitas  "  trap.2  Jg 

Let  us  examine  now  the  action  of  the  air  and 
water  in  our  trap  under  the  influence  of  a  very 
powerful  siphonic  action.  We  will  suppose  the 
trap  to  be  placed  in  position  under  a  fixture  with 
the  water  standing  in  its  normal  condition  up  to  the 
level  of  the  outflow,  as  shown  in  Fig.  16.  When, 

*  This  trap  is  manufactured  by  the  "  Sanitas  "  Manufacturing  Co., 
No.  4  Pemberton  Square,  Boston,  Mass. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  37 

through  siphonic  action,  a  partial  vacuum  is  created 
in  the  waste-pipe  below  the  trap,  the  water  in  the 
inlet-arm  of  the  trap  descends  under  the  influence 
of  the  atmospheric  pressure  on  its  surface  tending 
to  restore  the  equilibrium,  until  it  reaches  the  dip 


Fig.  17.    Body  of  trap. 

of  the  trap.  The  air  then  being  lighter  than  water 
passes  into  and  through  the  body  of  the  trap  and 
drives  a  portion  of  the  water,  not  already  driven 
out,  before  it  into  the  waste-pipe.  The  water  re- 
maining in  the  body  falls  back  and  maintains 
the  seal.  Subsequent  siphonic  action  cannot  re- 
move this  water  for  the  following  reasons :  The 
water  standing  in  the  inlet-arm  after  its  partial 
removal  from  the  body  of  the  trap  by  siphonic 


88  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

action,  as  described,  is  again  lowered  by  a  repetition 
of  the  action  to  the  dip.  Air  again  rushes  iuto^the 
body  to  fill  the  partial  vacuum  and  passes  into  and 
through  the  water  standing  therein.  This  water, 
though  increased  in  depth  by  that  which  enters 
from  the  inlet-pipe,  is,  nevertheless,  shallow  enough 


Figs.  18  and  19.    Glass  cap  and  bridge. 

to  give  room  for  its  passage.  It  projects  upward 
a  certain  quantity  of  water  in  its  passage,  with 
greater  or  less  violence,  according  to  the  strength 
of  the  siphonic  action  produced.  This  water  strikes 
the  under  surface  of  the  partition  in  the  body,  and 
is  partly  reflected  backward  by  it,  and  partly  follows 
the  air-current  toward  the  opening  between  the  end 
of  the  partition  and  the  cleanout  cap.  Owing  to 
the  greater  weight  and  momentum  of  the  water 
over  that  of  the  air,  the  water  is  reflected  back, 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  39 

while  the  air  passes  on.  A  second  reflection  takes 
place  against  the  surface  of  the  cleanout  cap. 
More  water  is  thrown  back,  and  a  small  remaining 
portion  only  succeeds  in  following  the  air  into  the 
passage  above  the  partition.  Of  this  small  portion 
part  again  is  reflected  back  by  the  upper  inner 
curved  surface  of  the  horizontal  body,  and  under 
very  strong  siphonic  action  a  few  drops  may  reach 
the  last  reflecting  surface  at  the  end  of  the  body 
opposite  the  cleanout  cap,  whence  it  is  once  more 
arrested,  and  the  air  alone  escapes  into  the  waste- 
pipe.  The  spray  falling  upon  the  partition  and  upon 
the  various  reflecting  surfaces  collects  at  the  bottom 
of  the  body  and  increases  the  depth  of  the  seal. 
The  greater  cohesive  and  attractive  force  of  the 
particles  of  water  over  that  of  air  aids  in  the  sepa- 
ration, since  it  causes  a  quantity  of  the  former  to 
adhere  to  the  reflecting  surfaces  while  the  air 
escapes.  This  arrangement  of  the  reflecting  sur- 
faces evidently  also  prevents  loss  of  the  water-seal 
by  the  momentum  of  the  water  descending  from  the 
fixture. 

Although  the  seal  is  not  excessively  deep,  yet  the 
trap,  owing  to  the  considerable  horizontal  extension 
of  its  passages,  contains  a  large  enough  body  of 
water  to  protect  it  from  the  dangers  of  evaporation 
and  back  pressure.  The  contraction  of  the  inlet 
and  outlet  arms  at  their  junction  with  the  body  of 
the  trap  renders  it  secure  against  self-siphonage. 
The  form  also  renders  loss  of  seal  through  capillary 
attraction  impossible,  as  will  be  hereafter  shown. 

When  used  where  trap  ventilation  is  prescribed  by 
law,  this  trap  can,  of  course,  be  ventilated  like  any 
other.  The  vent  may  be  applied  at  any  part  of  the 
outgo,  either  at  or  below  the  crown.  But  since, 
unlike  S  traps,  its  seal  cannot  be  destroyed  by  self- 


40  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

siphonage  or  momentum,  the  vent  need  not  be 
applied  at  the  crown.  It  may  be  applied  anywhere 
below  the  crown  far  enough  away  to  quite  avoid  the 
injurious  effects  of  evaporation.  Hence,  ventila- 
tion does  not  produce  the  destruction  to  the  seal 
that  it  does  with  other  self -cleansing  traps,  and  may 
be  used  with  impunity.  Trap  ventilation  is,  never- 
theless, in  this  case,  as  in  most  others,  absolutely 
useless,  and  its  installation  is  a  total  loss  to  the 
house-owner. 

Having  now  explained  the  theory  of  the  construc- 
tion of  the  "  Sanitas"  trap,  let  us  make  a  practical 
trial  of  its  operation. 

The  first  discharge  of  both  closets,  the  soil-pipe 
extension  being  forty-five  feet,  will  lower  the  seal 
considerably,  say  to  a  point  below  the  centre  of  the 
glass,  but  subsequent  discharges  will  have  very  little 
further  effect  upon  it,  and  when  the  seal  has  been 
reduced  to  about  an  inch  and  a  half,  or  in  the  very 
severest  possible  cases  long  repeated,  possibly  to  an 
inch  and  a  quarter  or  eighth,  even  the  most  power- 
ful suction  that  can  be  applied  with  an  apparatus 
used  in  practice  will  have  no  further  appreciable 
effect  upon  it,  even  though  the  siphonic  action  be 
strong  enough  to  destroy  the  seal  of  a  fullv  venti- 
lated S  trap  or  of  a  six-inch  pot- trap.  Ordinary 
siphonic  action  will  simply  lower  the  water  in  the 
trap  enough  to  permit  the  passage  of  air  above 
it,  leaving  a  seal  of  two  inches  or  more  permanently 
in  the  trap.  The  test  which  we  are  about  to  apply 
to  this  trap  is  severe  enough  to  siphon  out  com- 
pletely in  a  single  second  a  fully  ventilated  S  trap 
or  a  four-inch  pot-trap. 

(Discharge  Z  and  J.)  After  this  very  severe  test 
we  find  a  seal  left  of  one  and  one-half  inch. 

(Repeated.)  Only  an  eighth  of  an  inch  has  been 
removed  by  a  second  discharge. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  41 

(Repeated  ten  times  or  more.)  Five  repetitions  of 
the  discharges  have  lowered  the  seal  less  than  an 
eighth  of  an  inch,  leaving  a  full  seal  of  one  and 
one-fourth  inch.  Five  further  repetitions  pro- 
duce no  further  visible  effect  on  the  seal.  In  our 
previous  experiments  we  have  repeated  the  test 
fifty  times  without  apparent  diminution  of  the  seal. 

Snow.  We  will  now  apply  a  test  stronger  than 
any  we  have  tried  this  evening.  It  is  a  test  severe 
enough,  as  we  found  in  making  the  experiments  for 
the  City  Board  of  Health,  to  siphon  out  a  pot-trap 
eight  inches  in  diameter. 

We  will  retain  the  full  length  of  our  soil-pipe  and 
stop  up  the  opening  above  the  roof  with  oakum. 
Then,  by  discharging  both  closets  together,  we  shall 
produce  a  suction  as  great  as  any  which  could  pos- 
sibly be  produced  in  practice  as  when  the  top  of  the 
soil-pipe  is  closed  up  by  ice  or  snow. 

The  first  discharge  has  left  one  and  one-half 
inch  of  seal.  At  the  end  of  five  discharges  there 
is  still  one  and  one-eighth  inch  of  seal  left  and 
five  more  produce  no  further  apparent  diminution 
of  it.  Thus  we  see  the  seal  of  this  trap  cannot  be 
broken  by  any  siphonic  action  we  can  try  with  or- 
dinary apparatus  used  in  plumbing. 

Self -cleans  ing  Property  of  the  "  Sanitas"  Trap. 
It  remains  now  to  determine  if  the  "  Sanitas  "  trap 
is  actually  as  self -scour  ing  as  it  is  claimed  to  be. 

We  have  had  a  "  Sanitas "  basin  and  trap  set 
above  a  waste-pipe  of  glass  in  order  to  examine  the 
scouring  action  of  the  water  discharged  from  a 
basin  with  a  properly  proportioned  outlet  both  on 
the  trap  and  the  pipe  below  it. 

(Discharge  of  the  Basin.)  We  see  that  the  water 
rushes  through  the  trap  and  waste-pipe  at  a  very 
rapid  rate.  The  basin,  when  filled  to  the  brim,  holds 


42  IHE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

about  two  and  one-half  gallons.  It  empties  itself, 
when  set  with  a  waste-pipe  having  a  good  fall,  in 
about  three  seconds.  Hence,  the  water  flows  at  the 
rate  of  nearly  a  gallon  a  second,  and  has  an  enor- 
mous scouring-force  on  all  the  branch  piping  con- 
nected with  it. 

We  will  now  throw  various  substances  into  the 
bowl  and  trap  and  see  whether  they  are  retained  in 
them  or  not. 

We  will  first  try  a  quantity  of  coarse  coal  ashes, 
and,  to  make  the  test  somewhat  severe,  we  will  re- 
move the  strainer  and  throw  into  the  trap  pieces  of 
coal  with  the  ashes  nearly  an  inch  in  diameter. 
Filling  now  the  basin  we  find  a  single  discharge  has 
removed  all  the  dirt  and  a  second  discharge  has  left 
the  trap  and  waste-pipe  as  bright  as  ever. 

I  will  now  form  a  paste  of  softsoap  and  loani. 
The  loam  is  a  mixture  of  earth  and  clay.  The 
combination  of  this  and  the  soap  forms  in  large 
quantity  the  kind  of  waste  matter  to  which  wash- 
basins are  most  accustomed. 

All  this  matter  is  instantly  carried  through  the 
trap  and  waste-pipe,  and,  after  a  second  flushing, 
it  does  not  leave  a  stain  behind. 

After  trying  a  few  other  substances  we  will  make 
a  strong  solution  of  soap  and  dirty  water  and  let  it 
dry  on  the  pipe  and  then  see  if  it  will  wash  off 
after  drying. 

Large  pieces  of  hair-felt,  strings  of  jute  and 
tow,  coarse  gravel,  pieces  of  stone  an  inch  in 
diameter,  nails,  and  matches  are  all  whisked 
through  the  trap  as  easily  as  if  they  were  nothing 
but  house-flies.  In  short,  every  kind  of  substance 
likely  to  be  met  in  usage,  and  a  great  many  others, 
are  carried  through  and  away  with  speed  and  cer- 
tainty, and  the  self-cleansing  power  of  the  trap  is 
demonstrated. 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE. 


We  have  found  the  soap  dried  on  the  glass  tube 
is  completely  removed  by  the  strong  flushing  from 
the  basin.  '(This  last  test  was  tried  on  another 
occasion  before  the  lecture.) 

Capillary  Attraction.  The  seal  of  a  trap  is  some- 
times slowly  and  silently  drained  off  by  bits  of  hair, 
sponge,  or  twine  which  get  caught  across  the  outlet 
of  the  trap,  as  shown  in  Fig.  20,  and  draws  out  its 


Fig.  20.  Seal  of  S  trap 
destroyed  by  capillary 
attraction. 


Fig.  21.    Seal  of  pot-trap  de- 
stroyed by  capillary  attraction. 


water  by  capillary  attraction.  Numerous  experi- 
ments have  been  made  of  late  on  this  insidious  ene- 
my to  the  life  of  water- traps,  and  it  has  been  found 
that  there  is  a  limit  to  the  height  which  these  sub- 
stances will  carry  the  water  above  its  normal  level. 
We  find  this  limit  of  height  to  be  within  three 
inches  for  small  quantities  of  long  and  fibrous  sub- 
stances such  as  might  get  lodged  in  traps.  We 
must,  therefore,  form  our  trap  in  such  a  manner 


44  THE    PRINCIPLES    OP 

that  the  water  will  have  to  travel  along  the  fibrous 
substance  more  than  three  inches  before  its  seal 
can  be  broken.  The  "  Sauitas "  trap  has  been 
so  constructed  (Figs.  22  and  23),  and  in  no 


Fig.  22.    "  Sanitas  "  trap  re-  Fig.  23.    "  Sanitas."  trap  re- 

sisting capillary  attraction.  sisting  capillary  attraction. 

case  has  it  been  possible  to  destroy  its  seal  by 
the  capillary  attraction  of  substances  which  could 
be  lodged  in  it  in  practice. 

Back  Pressure.  Back  pressure  is  a  force  now  but 
little  to  be  feared  in  plumbing.  Before  it  became  cus- 
tomary to  ventilate  our  waste  and  soil  pipes,  pressure 
in  the  sewers,  either  from  winds  or  tides,  or  the  heat 
of  steam  or  chemical  action,  sometimes  produced  a 
serious  back  pressure  in  our  house-pipes.  Now  we 
no  longer  encounter  the  difficulty  from  these  causes, 
since  we  are  accustomed  to  have  our  pipes  properly 
ventilated.  It  is  only  under  certain  rare  conditions, 
such  as  when  a  trap  is  situated  near  the  bottom  of  a 
tall  stack  of  pipe  and  close  to  a  sudden  bend,  that 
back  pressure  is  produced  by  falling  water  com- 
pressing the  air  in  advance  of  it.  The  bend  in  the 
soil-pipe  prevents  the  escape  of  the  air  below  as 
fast  as  it  accumulates  above  under  the  falling  water- 
plug. 

To  resist  this  pressure  it  is  only  necessary  to  have 
a  sufficient  body  of  water  in  the  trap  and  to  set 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


45 


the  trap  at  a  distance  below  the  fixture  it  serves 
sufficient  for  this  water  to  form  in  the  pipe  when 
subjected  to  back  pressure,  a  column  from  twelve  to 
sixteen  inches  long.  (Fig-  25.)  The  weight  of 
such  a  column  is  ample  to  withstand  any  back  press- 
ure ever  now  encountered  in  good  plumbing. 


Fig.  24.    S  trap  emptied  by  back  pressure. 

The  "  Sanitas  "  trap  is  made  to  contain  a  body  of 
water  heavy  enough  to  easily  resist  any  back  press- 
ure it  can  ever  be  called  upon  to  bear  in  modern 
plumbing  work. 

Evaporation.  When  traps  are  not  ventilated 
evaporation  goes  on  with  such  slowness  as  to  be 
scarcely  perceptible.  Nevertheless,  it  is  best  to 
have  the  trap  contain  as  large  a  body  of  water  as  is 


46 


THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 


consistent  with  its  self-cleansiug  properties.  An 
ordinary  one  and  a  half-inch  S  trap  holds  about 
three  eighths  of  a  pint  of  water.  A  one  and  a 
quarter-inch  S  trap  holds  less  than  one  fourth  of  a 
pint.  The  "  Sanitas  "  holds  one  and  a  half  pint, 


Fig.  25.    Deep  seal  S  trap  resisting  back  pressure. 

or  about  as  much  as  an  ordinary  three-inch  pot-trap. 
This  is  sufficient  to  last,  under  ordinary  conditions, 
over  a  year  without  renewal  when  the  trap  is  un- 
ventilated. 

Where  the  trap  is  ventilated,  however,  in  the 
manner  customary  under  our  present  plumbing 
laws,  the  seal  of  an  ordinary  machine-made  S  trap  is 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  47 

licked  up  by  the  air-current  in  a  very  short  time, 
varying  in  my  own  experiments  from  four  to  eleven 
days. 

Size  and  Material.  Traps  for  the  smaller  fix- 
tures should  be  manufactured  in  one  size,  that  is, 
of  a  capacity  sufficient  to  fill  the  usual  one  and 
a  half  or  one  and  a  quarter  inch  waste-pipe  full- 
bore.  In  other  words,  the  size  of  the  traps  should 
be  governed  by  the  size  of  branch  waste-pipes. 
These  pipes  should  never  exceed  one  and  a  half 
inch  in  diameter,  except  for  water-closets. 
Waste-pipes  should  not  be  less  than  one  and  a 
quarter  inch  in  diameter.  Hence,  the  capacity  of 
the  trap  should  not  be  less  than  this  at  any  part, 
and  to  be  self-scouring  should  not  exceed  this 
capacity  at  any  part.  The  cleanout  cups  should  be 
made  of  glass  or  of  metal.  Glass  should  be 
used  for  washbasins  only,  and  then  only  when  a 
possible  fracture  will  not  produce  serious  damage  to 
frescoed  ceilings  below.  With  bathtubs,  sinks, 
laundry -tubs,  and  all  other  fixtures  metal  cups 
should  always  be  used,  since  even  the  best  annealed 
glass  is  liable  to  be  broken  by  sudden  changes  of 
temperature  or  by  careless  usage. 


PART     II. 


WASHBASINS. 

THE  character  of  our  lavatories 
is  a  matter  of  very  much  greater 
importance  than  is  usually  sup- 
posed. We  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  selecting  our  washbasins 
and  bathtubs  purely  from  a 
standpoint  of  convenience,  ap- 
pearance, and  economy.  Sanitary 
?.[25.  ordinary  considerations  have  been  quite 
ner'B1K  overlooked,  in  the  belief  that  they 
have  little  or  nothing  to  do  with  the  form  of  these 
particular  fixtures,  so  long  as  their  traps  and  waste- 
pipes  were  properly  made. 

This  is  a  very  serious  error,  and  particularly  so 
in  relation  to  washbasins,  in  the  choice  of  which 
sanitary  considerations  should  outweigh  all  others. 
We  say  this  advisedly,  and  for  the  following 
reasons :  As  usually  constructed,  the  outlet  is 
altogether  too  small  in  proportion  to  the  size  of  the 
trap  and  waste-pipe.  The  result  is  imperfect  flush- 
ing of  these  pipes,  gradual  accumulation  of  filth  in 
them,  and  the  various  serious  evils  to  which  such  ac- 
cumulations give  rise.  Fig.  25  shows  the  actual  dimen- 
sions of  the  ordinary  basin-strainer.  It  will  be 
found,  by  accurately  measuring  these  figures,  that 
the  amount  of  water-way  is  just  equivalent  to  that 
of  a  three-fourths  inch  pipe.  A  very  short  usage 
soon  reduces  this  meagre  opening,  through  the 


50  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

collection  of  sediment  and  lint,  to  a  still  smaller 
stream.  Accordingly  we  find  that  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  the  ordinary  basins  now  in  use  discharge 
a  stream  not  over  half  an  inch  in  diameter.  The 
waste-pipes  are  usually  an  inch  and  a  quarter  or  an 
inch  and  a  half  in  diameter,  a  capacity  which  is 
given  for  the  purpose  of  ensuring  the  safe  removal 
of  the  water  delivered  by  two  supply-faucets  run- 
ning full  force,  under  medium  or  high  city  pressure, 
and  escaping  through  the  outlet  and  overflow  pas- 
sages combined,  together  with  a  possible  simultane- 
ous discharge  of  the  adjoining  fixtures  entering  the 
same  waste.  Now  a  half -inch  stream  of  waste- 
water,  trickling  through  pipes  capable  of  delivering 
ten  times  as  much,  fouls,  but  does  not  scour,  them. 
I  have  taken  out  such  pipes  and  found  them  more 
than  half  filled  with  slime  and  filth,  and  in  places 
where  the  pipe  ran  nearly  horizontal,  or  made  sharp 
bends,  I  have  found  them  nearly  filled  with  the 
putrefying  mass.  No  amount  of  ventilation  can 
cleanse  such  pipes.  But  the  sediment  was  soft  and 
gelatinous,  and  would  easily  have  been  swept  away 
by  the  powerful  discharge  of  a  basin  filling  the 
pipes  full-bore. 

Besides  the  important  sanitary  advantage  of  a 
rapid  discharge,  we  have  others  of  economy  and 
convenience.  To  empty  an  ordinary  basin  requires 
a  very  considerable  amount  of  time  and  more 
patience  than  the  majority  of  people  possess.  The 
result  is  that  people  fall  into  the  habit  of  washing 
from  the  faucet  rather  than  from  the  basin,  and  a 
great  waste  of  water  is  involved.  A  quick  waste 
and  convenient  method  of  operating  and  controlling 
it  results  in  a  saving  of  water  and  very  great  con- 
venience in  usage.  A  knowledge  that  a  sudden  dis- 
charge of  a  basinful  of  water  through  the  pipes  acts 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


as  an  important  sanitary  measure,  after  the  manner 
of  a  flushing  tank,  in  cleansing  them  from  end  to 
end,  leads  to  a  legitimate  use  of  the  basin  and  an 
economy  of  water,  a  consideration  which  the  water- 
companies  and  the  public  in  time  of  drought  will 
not  be  slow  to  appreciate. 

WASHBASINS    HAVING    CONCEALED    OVERFLOW- 
PASSAGES. 

This  class  of  fixture  violates  one  of  the  first  con- 
ditions of  sanitary  plumbing.  A  portion  of  the 
apparatus  intended  to  carry  off  waste-water  at  the 
irregular  and  uncertain  intervals  of  overflowing 
becomes  fouled  without  the  chance  of  cleansing 
through  flushing  action,  and  is  placed  in  such  a 
position  that  it  cannot  be  seen  or  reached  without 
disconnecting  the  whole  fixture. 

Our  first  subdivision  of  this  class  is  the  ordinary 

PLUG-AND-CII  AIN    OUTLET-BASIN . 

We  see  here  (Fig.  26)  the  concealed  overflow-pipe 
constructed  of  lead  and  so  placed  as  to  be  altogether 
inaccessible.  Being 
above  in  open  com- 
munication with  the 
air  of  the  room,  it 
taints  it  with  the  de- 
composing soap  and 
filth  with  which  the 
sides  soon  become 
coated.  The  ordinary 
washbasin  has  no 
proper  flange  for  con- 
nection with  the  lead 
overflow  -  pipe  ;  the 
joint  has  therefore  to 


Fig. 


Ordinary  plug-and-chaii 
outlet-basin. 


52  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

be  made  with  ordinary  putty,  which  can  never  be 
made  permanently  and  surely  tight.  The  lead  pipe 
must  be  connected  with  the  main  waste-pipes  above 
the  trap,  and  the  joint  here  must  be  wiped  with  sol- 
der. Thus,  to  set  an  ordinary  washbasin,  the  plumber 
has  two  extra  joints  to  make,  which  add  both  to 
the  expense  of  the  work  and  to  the  chances  of  im- 
perfection and  leakage.  It  is  an  exceedingly  com- 
mon thing  to  find  the  overflow-pipe  wrongly  con- 
nected ;  it  is  sometimes  entered  below  the  trap, 
sometimes  attached  directly  to  the  trap-vent,  and 
sometimes  connected  with  the  wastes  of  other  fix- 
tures in  such  a  way  as  to  open,  through  the  vent- 
pipes,  an  indirect  avenue  into  the  house  for  sewer- 
gas.  It  forms,  in  short,  an  unnecessary  and  dan- 
gerous complication  to  the  plumbing,  and  these 
basins  should  never  be  used. 

Many  house-owners  stop  up  the  holes  in  the 
earthenware  leading  into  the  overflow-pipe  at  con- 
siderable inconvenience  to  themselves,  in  the  hope 
of  avoiding  the  chance  of  the  entrance  of  offensive 
or  injurious  gases  into  the  house  through  this  chan- 
nel. With  defective  traps,  or  with  traps  whose 
seal  is  liable  to  be  quickly  destroyed  bv  evapora- 
tion, siphonage,  or  other  cause,  this  precaution 
against  danger  would  not  be  useless  if  the  overflow- 
pipe  connections  could  be  made  certainly  tight,  es- 
pecially when  the  fixture  is  left  for  some  time 
unused.  As  they  are  made,  however,  it  is  probable 
that  no  such  precaution  would  form  any  reliable 
security. 

The  use  of  the  plug  and  chain,  which  charac- 
terizes this  type  of  basin,  is  another  serious  defect. 
The  chain,  lying  in  every  successive  formation  of 
dirty  water,  collects  gradually  in  the  recesses  of  its 
links  an  unknown  quantity  and  variety  of  filth, 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE.  53 

which  cannot  be  entirely  removed  on  account  of  its 
irregular  form,  without  the  use  of  special  acids  or 
constant  scrubbing  with  a  brush,  a  process  never 
applied  to  it.  The  length  of  wire  used  in  an  ordi- 
nary basin-chain  averages  six  feet,  and  has  a  sur- 
face of  about  fourteen  square  inches,  a  surface 
which,  in  consideration  of  the  peculiar  adaptability 
of  the  form  of  the  links  for  retaining  dirt,  presents 
a  very  formidable  area  of  pollution.  To  those  per- 
sons who  use  their  reasoning  powers  in  these  mat- 
ters the  idea  of  washing  the  face  in  water  defiled  by 
a  chain  transferred  immediately  from  the  dirty 
water  of  some  unknown  predecessor  is  with  good 
reason  exceedingly  repulsive.  The  chain,  more- 
over, frequently  breaks,  and  then  the  hand  must  be 
plunged  into  dirty  water  to  remove  the  plug. 

The  position  of  the  chain  and  plug  at  the  bottom 
of  the  bowl  is,  moreover,  peculiarly  inconvenient, 
inasmuch  as  they  are  in  the  way  of  the  hands, 
which  should  meet  a  smooth,  unbroken  surface  of 
earthenware  rather  than  the  hard  and  irregular  out- 
lines of  the  brasswork.  If  this  latter  consideration 
appear  to  some  trivial,  it  does  so  only  because 
habit  has  rendered  us  callous  to  such  defects  ;  the 
defect  none  the  less  exists,  and  acquires  importance 
through  the  frequency  of  its  repetition  and  the  con- 
stant use  of  the  fixture  in  which  it  occurs.  The 
fact  that  it  is  altogether  unnecessary  is  a  sufficient 
reason  for  its  abolition. 

CONCEALED    WASTE-VALVE    BASIN. 

Fig.  27  represents  a  basin  fitted  with  the  so-called 
"  Boston  Waste,"  which  is  very  popular.  There 
is  probably  no  form  of  basin-fitting  more  faulty  in 
principle  than  this.  It  contains  two  independent, 
inaccessible,  and  invisible  foul-water  passages,  one 
forming  the  overflow-passage,  and  the  other  the 


54  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

outlet  passageway^1  between  the  strainer  and  the 
waste-cock.  This  latter  passage  forms  an  elongated 
cesspool  for  the  defilement  of  the  clean  water  en- 
tering the  basin.  After  using  the  fixture,  the  waste- 
water  escaping  through  this  channel  deposits  part 
of  its  dirt,  particularly  floating  matter  and  soap- 
suds, all  along  its  sides,  and  leaves  it  there  to  be 
taken  up  and  applied  in  a  diluted  solution  to  the 
hands  and  face  of  the  next  comer.  Six  wiped 


Fig.  27.    Concealed  waste-valve  basin. 

solder  joints,  one  putty  joint,  and  five  threaded 
joints,  making  twelve  in  all,  are  required  to  adjust 
the  waste-pipes  of  this  apparatus  and  its  trap  be- 
low the  basin-slab  !  No  wonder  the  plumber  is  con- 
stantly in  requisition  to  keep  in  repair  such  a  com- 
plicated machine  so  long  as  the  owner  allows  it  to 
remain  in  his  house.  Not  the  least  of  its  defects  is 
that  the  passageway  for  the  waste-water  through 
the  ground-cock  is  usually  so  small  (scarcely  a  quar- 
ter of  an  inch  wide)  that  a  small  deposit  of  sedi- 
ment will  entirely  prevent  the  outflow  of  the  water. 
The  ' '  Boston  Waste  "  cannot  be  too  strongly  con- 
demned. The  great  extent  of  its  use  in  spite  of  its 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE.  55 

high  cost  shows  how  little  knowledge  the  public 
have  in  these  matters,  and  how  important  it  is  that 
their  attention  should  be  called  to  them. 

THE    STAND-PIPE    OVERFLOW-BASIN. 

It  is  not  sufficient  that  every  part  of  our  appara- 
tus should  be  visible  and  accessible  from  without, 
and  devoid  of  all  fouling  chambers  and  corners,  but 
it  is  above  all  necessary  that,  combined  with  the 
utmost  convenience  and  simplicity  of  action  and 
economy  of  construction,  it  should  be  so  formed  as 
to  ensure  the  complete  automatic  scouring  of  its 
waste-pipes  and  trap  without  detriment  to  the  water- 
seal  of  the  latter. 

A  suitable  enlargement  of  the  basin-outlet  is  all 
that  is  necessary  to  produce  the  requisite  scouring 
action  ;  but  the  force  of  the  out-flowing  water-col- 
umn is  so  great  when  the  pipes  are  charged  full- 
bore  that  it  will  siphon  out  and  completely  destroy 
the  water-seal  of  an  ordinary  S  trap  unless  it  be 
fully  ventilated  at  or  very  near  the  crown,  and  it 
will  dangerously  lower  it  even  then.  This  is  the 
action  which  we  have  called  u  self-siphonage."  No 
injurious  effect  is  produced  on  the  seal  of  an  anti- 
siphon  trap  by  self-siphonage,  but  the  water  is  some- 
what reduced  in  the  trap  below  its  normal  level.  It 
is  therefore  desirable,  and  when  S  traps  must  be 
used  extremely  important,  that  such  a  basin  should 
be  so  constructed  as  to  enable  it  automatically  to 
restore  the  water,  and  in  the  following  description 
it  will  be  seen  that  this  has  been  accomplished. 

The  next  important  point  is  to  obtain  the  utmost 
simplicity  of  form  and  to  provide  for  an  overflow- 
passage  which  shall  be  both  visible  and  accessible. 
We  have  established  as  the  second  datum  of  our 
problem  that  the  basin  be  fixed  and  single,  and  have 
an  independent,  visible,  and  accessible  overflow-pipe. 


56  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

It  is  important  both  for  convenience  and  economy 
that  the  opening  in  the  marble  slab  covering  our 
basin  should  be  circular  or  elliptic.  These  open- 
ings are  cut  by  machinery,  and  any  form  other  than 
these  requires  manual  work,  and  at  once  increases 
the  cost  of  manufacture.  Moreover,  this  form  of 
opening  occupies  the  least  space  on  the  slab  and 
presents  the  most  agreeable  effect.  A  third  datum 
in  our  problem  is,  therefore,  that  the  usual  round 
or  elliptical  form  of  the  opening  in  the  basin-slab 
be  retained. 

Finally,  as  the  overflow-outlet  must  be  near  the 
top  of  the  basin,  some  form  of  passageway  which 
shall  extend  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  must  be 
provided,  and  since  this  cannot  be  on  the  outside  of 
a  fixed  basin  without  being  concealed  by  the  slab, 
it  must  be  on  the  inside.  Hence,  as  a  fourth 
datum,  our  overflow  must  have  the  general  form  of 
a  stand-pipe,  and  to  be  completely  out  of  the  way 
of  the  user  it  must  set  in  a  recess  under  the  slab  at 
the  back  of  the  basin,  which  must  be  perpendicular 
at  this  point  to  receive  it. 

Fig.  28  represents  the  elevation  and  plan  of  our 
stand-pipe  overflow-basin,  designed  in  accordance 
with  these  data.  The  opening  in  the  marble  slab  is 
circular  or  elliptical.  A  smaller  circle  represents  the 
stand-pipe  in  a  small  recess  at  the  rear  of  the  bowl 
under  the  slab.  The  recess  is  large  enough  to  allow 
easy  cleansing  without  moving  the  stand-pipe  ;  and 
yet  not  so  large  as  to  injure  the  appearance  of  the 
bowl.  The  bottom  of  the  basin  pitches  slightly 
from  the  centre  toward  the  outlet ;  enough  to  thor- 
oughly drain  off  the  water  at  each  discharge,  and 
yet  not  so  much  but  that  the  last  part  is  retarded 
until  the  siphon  formed  by  the  main  body  is  broken 
by  the  air.  The  result  is  a  restoration  of  the  water- 
seal  of  the  trap,  in  case  the  trap  be  of  a  kind  which 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


57 


would  in  basins  of  ordinary  form  be  destroyed  by 
self-siphonage. 

The  diameter  of  the  brass  outlet  at  the  bottom  of 
the  basin  measures  2  inches  in  the  clear,  in  order 
to  allow  for  the  obstruction  caused  by  the 
strainer.  The  stand-pipe  is  raised  and  low- 
ered by  a  simple  weighted  cam,  arranged  as  shown 


Fig.  28.    The  "  Sanitas  "  stand-pipe  overflow-basin. 

in  Fig.  29.  The  cam  is  pivoted  close  to  the  rod 
which  raises  the  stand-pipe,  and  its  bearing  sur- 
face has  the  form  of  a  parabola.  Its  proportions 
and  arrangement  are  such  as  to  enable  it  to  raise 
the  stand-pipe  without  perceptible  friction.  The 
weight  of  the  handle,  about  6  ounces,  under  a 
leverage  of  only  an  inch  and  a  half  (the  length  of 
the  horizontal  bar) ,  is  sufficient  to  overbalance  the 
stand-pipe  and  hold  it  raised.  When  the  weight 
is  lifted,  the  stand-pipe  is  lowered  and  the  outlet 
closed.  In  this  position  the  weight  is  directly  over 


58 


THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 


the  pivot,  so  that  the  plug  and  stand-pipe  overbal- 
ance the  weight  and  remain  closed.  Thus  a  single 
movement  of  the  hand 
will  open  or  close  the  out- 
let and  cause  it  to  re- 
main in  the  position  in 
which  it  is  left. 

The  stand  -  pipe  rod 
passes  through,  and  is 
guided  by.  a  short  tube 
threaded  on  the  lower 
end  and  provided  with  a 
nut  by  which  the  brass- 
work  is  secured  to  the 
marble  slab.  This  rend- 
ers the  brass  work  adjust- 
able, that  is,  permits  it  to 
be  used  with  slabs  of  any 
thickness,  the  slabs  be- 
ing perforated  by  a  sin- 
gle hole,  as  is  usual  for 
the  chainpost  of  ordinary 
basins.  The  centre  of  the 
hole  in  the  slab  comes  over 
that  of  the  basin-outlet. 
In  order  to  ensure  the  plug  on  the  stand-pipe 
falling  always  into  its  socket,  the  strainer  is 
attached  permanently  to  the  stand-pipe  plug,  as 
shown  in  the  drawing.  It  thus  serves  as  a  guide  for 
it,  and  allows  its  being  lifted  out  at  pleasure 
for  cleansing  purposes.  It  is  thus  possible  to 
remove  the  strainer,  and  reach  the  inner  surface  of 
the  waste-pipe  as  far  down  as  to  the  trap  itself. 
Thus  we  have  an  apparatus,  every  part  of  which, 
both  inside  and  outside,  is  visible  and  accessible 
without  unscrewing  or  taking  down  any  part  of  the 
set  fixture. 


Fig.  29.    Brasswork  of  the 
"  Sanltas  "  basin. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


.09 


The  stand-pipe  with  its  plug  and  strainer  may  be 
lifted  out  by  simply  unhooking  it  from  the  stand- 
pipe  rod. 

P'igs.  30  and  31  show  the  appearance  of  the 
apparatus  in  perspective.  By  these  it  will  be  ob- 
served that  the  recess  in  the 
basin  and  the  stand-pipe  are 
covered  by  the  marble,  and  do 
not  interfere  with  the  general 
form  seen  from  above.  The 
stand-pipe  measures  about  3^ 
inches  in  height  and  1^  inches 
in  diameter.  Hence  its  exte- 
3wrior  surface  measures  13£ 
square  inches.  Its  superficial 
area  is,  therefore,  not  so  great  as  that  of  the  ordi- 


Fig.  31.    Basin-set  "  open." 

nary  basin-chain.     But  while  the  chain  cannot  be 


60  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

cleansed  on  account  of  its  intricate  form,  the 
smooth  surface  of  the  stand-pipe,  on  the  contrary, 
can  be  surrounded  and  polished  by  a  single  move- 
ment of  a  cloth  or  sponge.  Ample  room  for  the 
scrubbing-cloth  is  provided  between  the  stand-pipe 
and  the  walls  of  its  niche,  so  that  both  may  be 
cleansed  without  lifting  out  the  former. 

WASHBASINS,    BATHTUBS,    SINKS,    ETC. 

The  criticisms  we  have  made  on  washbasins 
apply  equally  to  bathtubs.  No  better  flushing 
apparatus  could  be  devised  for  the  branch  waste- 


rig.  32.    "  Sanitas  "  ball). 

pipes  than  a  properly  constructed  bathtub  with  a 
large  outlet.  As  we  have  found  the  case  with 
washbasins,  so  with  bathtubs  :  the  best  form  of  dis- 
charge and  overflow  is  the  open  stand-pipe ;  and 
the  most  convenient  method  of  operating  it  is  by 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE.  61 

the  weighted  cam  already  described.  The  cut,  Fig. 
32,  shows  the  arrangement  in  perspective.  Part  of 
the  floor  in  front  of  the  bathtub  is  designed  with 
hinges  to  lift  upward  and  give  access  to  the  trap. 


Fig.  33.    Transverse  section  of  tub. 

The  stand-pipe  sets  in  a  recess  at  the  back 
of  the  tub.  The  whole  length  of  the  tub  is  thus 
rendered  available,  and  no  part  of  the  outlet  mech- 
anism stands  in  the  way  of  the  feet  of  the  bather. 
In  ordinary  bathtubs  the  stand-pipe  is  set  six  or 
eight  inches  from  the  back  into  the  tub.  It  has  to 
be  lifted  out  by  hand  when  the  tub  is  emptied,  and 
a  place  found  for  it.  This  constant  shifting  of  the 
stand-pipe  is  not  only  troublesome  but  liable  to 
cause  injury  to  the  tub  itself.  In  careless  handling 
the  heavy  pipe  is  often  dropped  into  the  tub,  where- 
by the  thin  copper  is  permanently  dented  and 
marred.  By  the  "Sanitas"  fitting  all  handling  is 
avoided.  The  supply-cocks  may,  of  course,  enter 
the  upright  end  of  the  tub,  or  be  placed  above  it 
out  of  the  way  as  shown  in  the  drawing. 


THE   PRINCIPLES    OF 


Figs.  33  and  34  show  the  tub  in  section,  and 
Fig.  3o  in  plan.  The  finished  wooden  top  or 
slab  of  the  tub  has  the  usual  form,  as  shown  by  the 
dotted  lines  in  the  latter  figure.  The  tub  itself  has 
also  the  usual  shape,  except  as  to  the  semicircular 
recess  for  the  reception  of  the  stand-pipe. 

In  all  plumbing  work  it  is  of  the  first  importance 
that  every  inch  should  be  accessible,  and,  where 
possible,  every  inch  visible  without  unscrewing  or 
undoing  any  part  of  the  work.  Therefore  when- 
ever a  bathtub  is  cased  in,  all  parts  of  the  piping 
should  be  accessible  through  hinged  panels. 


Fig.  34.    Longitudinal  section  of  tub. 

It  will  always  be  found  best  to  follow  the  custom 
of  many  plumbers  and  builders  of  raising  the  bath- 
tub four  inches  or  more  above  the  floor  on  pieces  of 
studding,  as  shown.  This  renders  access  to  the  trap 
much  easier.  A  bathtub  raised  six  or  eight  inches 
would  be  still  better.  It  should  stand  2  feet,  2 
inches,  or  2  feet,  4  inches,  above  the  floor  up  to  the 
top  of  the  finished  woodwork.  This  would  require 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE.  63 

the  use  of  studs  6  inches  or  8  inches  thick  under 
the  rough  woodwork  of  the  tub.  The  writer 
has,  for  many  years,  used  a  tub  set  even 
higher  than  this,  and  finds  it  equally  if  not  more 
convenient  in  usage. 


Fig.  35.    Plan  of  the  "  Sanitas  "  tub. 

A  small  piece  of  sheet  lead,  about  eight  inches 
square  with  its  edges  turned  up  an  inch  all  round 
and  soldered  to  form  a  water-tight  tray,  may  be  set 
under  the  trap,  as  shown,  to  catch  the  water  when  the 
cup  is  removed  for  examination  of  the  interior.  Or 
a  saucer  or  dustpan  may  be  used  for  the  purpose. 
But  the  best  plan  is  to  place  the  bathtub  trap  in  full 
sight  below  the  plaster  of  the  ceiling  of  the  bathroom 
or  china-closet  below. 

It  is  not  desirable,  as  some  writers  on  sanitary 
plumbing  urge,  that  the  bathtub  should  stand  open 
on  legs  without  wooden  casing,  because  the  bath- 
tub must  set  so  near  the  floor  that  the  space  under 
it  if  left  open  would  be  hardly  more  than  a  crack. 
Dust  would  collect  under  it,  and  though,  with 
prouer  care,  it  would  be  quite  possible  to  remove  it 
with  the  proper  form  of  swab  or  broom,  yet  we 
know  that  places  so  difficult  of  access  would  be 
neglected  bv  servants.  The  very  reason  which  would 
induce  us  to  leave,  in  some  cases,  the  washstand 
without  casing  would  lead  us  to  case  up  the  bathtub, 


64  THE   PRINCIPLES   OF 

that  is,  to  avoid  dirt  and  dust  corners.  In  either 
case,  whether  the  tub  be  sheathed  in  or  not,  its 
trap,  being  wholly  or  partly  under  the  floor-level, 
would  have  to  be  approached  through  movable 
panels,  so  that  no  advantage  on  this  score  would  be 
gained  by  leaving  the  bathtub  open. 


Fig.  36.    Iron  bathtub  with  "Sanltas  "  waste. 

In  Europe  where  copper  baths  are  made  of  metal 
heavy  enough  to  stand  alone  without  a  wooden 
frame,  the  custom  prevails  of  allowing  them  to 
stand  free  on  the  floor.  But  in  this  country  where 
tinned  and  planished  copper  sheets  weighing  only 
from  ten  to  twenty-four  ounces  a  square  foot  are 
used,  a  rough  frame  is  required  to  support  it. 
This  requires  a  casing  of  finished  wood  and  the 
casing  should  extend  to  the  floor. 

Porcelain  baths  of  English  manufacture  are  also 
used  in  this  country  to  a  certain  extent  and  gener- 
ally stand  open.  Their  high  cost  and  great  weight 
prevent  their  general  adoption.  They  have,  more- 
over, the  disadvantage  of  being  cold  to  the  touch 
and  of  lowering  the  temperature  of  hot  water  when 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  65 

it  is  used  in  them.  Porcelain-lined  iron  tubs  are 
also  manufactured  here  and  are  made  to  stand  open 
without  casing.  The  liability  to  "  scaling"  of  the 
enamel  is  their  only  serious  objection.  Slate  and 
marble  tubs  are  also  made,  the  slabs  being  con- 
nected with  cement. 

Fig.  36  represents  a  porcelain-lined  iron  bath- 
tub standing  open. 

SHOWER-BATHS. 

Fig.  37  represents  a  shower-bath.  It  stands  free 
in  the  corner  of  the  bathing-room,  which  has  a  dished 
or  sunken  floor  to  receive  it.  Jets  are  arranged  on 
all  sides  as  well  as  above  and  below. 

The  shower-bath  is  an  agreeable  luxury  for  sum- 
mer use  ;  but  for  winter  houses  it  is  not  so  much  to 
be  recommended.  The  shock  produced  by  sprays 
of  cold  water  upon  the  body  standing  inactive  is 
dangerous ;  and  the  use  of  warm  water  in  the 
shower-bath  in  winter,  without  intelligent  precau- 
tions, is  also  objectionable.  For  these  reasons 
shower-baths  are  now  seldom  used  in  city  houses  in 
the  North. 

The  usual  form  of  shower-bath  consists  in  a 
simple  rose-nozzle  arranged  overhead  to  throw  per- 
pendicular jets  downwards.  There  are,  however,  a 
very  great  variety  of  forms  and  arrangements  of 
shower-bath  in  use.  Sometimes,  in  combination 
with  the  simple  rose-nozzle  above,  a  lower  nozzle  is 
provided  with  a  rubber  hose  in  such  a  manner  that 
the  lower  jets  may  be  applied  in  any  desired  direc- 
tion. Sometimes  the  end  of  the  bath-tub  is  raised 
high  enough  to  enclose  the  shower-bath  as  in  a 
niche.  Lateral  as  well  as  perpendicular  jets  may 
be  used  within  this  niche,  in  which  the  bather  may 
sit  or  stand.  Sometimes  the  rose-nozzle  is  fur- 


66  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

nished  with  special  "  needle"  outlets  throwing 
strong  sharp  jets  in  addition  to  the  drops  from  the 
sprinkler.  To  give  varying  pressure  the  cistern  is 


Fig.  37.    Needle  shower-bath. 

sometimes  hung  in  such  a  manner  that  it   may    lie 
raised  or  lowered  at  will  bv  means  of  pulleys. 

Fig.  38  illustrates  the  manner  in  which  the 
overflow-passage  of  a  bathtub  may  become  foul. 
Colonel  Waring,  in  his  article  on  "  The  Principles 
and  Practice  of  House  Drainage,"  in  the  November 
and  December  numbers  of  The  Century  Magazine  for 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  67 

1884,  speaking  of  concealed  overflow -passages, 
says  :  ' '  They  are  practically  never  reached  by  a 
strong  flushing  stream,  and  their  walls  accumulate 
tilth  and  slime  to  a  degree  that  would  hardly  be  be- 
lieved ;  .  .  .  they  are  more  often  than  any  other 
part  of  the  plumbing  work,  except  the  urinal,  the 
source  of  the  offensive  drain-smell 
so  often  observed  on  first  coming 
into  a  house  from  the  fresh  air. 
...  It  will,  perhaps,  be  instruc- 
tive to  illustrate  by  a  diagram 
the  reason  why  the  usual  hidden 
overflow  is  so  objectionable.  .  .  . 
If  we  suppose  the  tub  to  be  filled 
to  the  level  of  the  overflow  and  Fig  38  Colu.eal(,(1 
its  waste-plug  to  be  removed,  the  overflow, 

water  will  immediately  rise  in  the  overflow-pipe  to 
very  nearly  its  height  in  the  tub.  It  is,  of  course, 
impregnated  with  the  impurities  of  the  water  in 
the  bath.  Furthermore,  the  lighter  particles  of 
organic  matter  flowing  through  the  waste  will, 
some  of  them,  rise  by  their  levity  into  the  overflow- 
pipe.  The  water  rushes  up  into  this  pipe  with 
much  force,  but  it  descends  only  very  slowly  as 
the  level  in  the  bath  descends,  so  that  at  each 
operation  there  is  a  tendency  to  deposit  adhesive 
matters  to  the  walls  of  the  pipe.  What  is  so 
deposited  decomposes,  and  escapes  little  by  little  in 
a  gaseous  form  through  the  perforated  screen  into 
the  air  of  the  room.  The  amount  of  these  decom- 
posing matters  is  somewhat  increased,  though  prob- 
ably not  very  much,  by  floating  particles  passing 
through  the  screen  when  the  overflowing  is  perform- 
ing its  legitimate  function." 

"This  is  the  simplest  statement  of  the  proposition, 
and  this  is,  perhaps,  the  least  objectionable  form  of 


68  THE    PRINCIPLES    OK 

hidden  overflow.  Where  the  waste-pipe  is  closed 
at  the  bottom  of  the  overflow  by  a  plug  or  valve 
attached  to  a  spindle  rising  through  the  overflow- 
pipe, —  a  very  favorite  device  with  some  plumbers, 
—  the  difficulty  is  in  every  way  aggravated,  and  the 
amount  of  fouled  surface  is  much  increased.  The 
inherent  defect  here  illustrated  attaches  to  every 
overflow  of  this  general  character  connected  with 
any  part  of  the  plumbing  work.  In  the  case  of  a 
bathtub  it  may  very  easily  be  avoided,  as  shown  in 
the  next  diagram."  Colonel  Waring  then  illustrates 
and  explains  the  ordinary  stand-pipe  arrangement, 
and  says :  "  Unfortunately  such  a  substitute  for 
the  ordinary  overflow  is  not  applicable  to  washbowls 
as  now  made.1  It  may  be  made  available  for  pantrv- 
sinks  if  the  pipe  can  be  so  placed  in  a  corner  as  not 
to  interfere  with  the  proper  use  of  the  vessel.  If  its 
universal  adoption  for  bathtubs  could  be  secured,  a 
very  widespread  source  of  mild  nuisance  would  be 
done  away  with.  Fortunately,  it  is  far  cheaper  than 
any  arrangement  for  which  it  is  a  substitute.  It  is 
one  of  its  incidental  uses  that  it  enables  us  to  get 
rid  of  the  dirty  chain  attached  to  the  ordinary  bath- 
plug." 

The  size  of  the  trap  for  bathtubs  should  never 
exceed  that  of  the  outlet  and  waste  pipe.  A  1 J  inch 
trap  is  large  enough  for  any  bathtub  or  washbasin. 
The  proper  size  for  traps  and  waste-pipes  of  differ- 
ent fixtures  is  a  matter  which  is  very  little  under- 
stood. This  ignorance  has  its  origin  in  the  faulty 
construction  of  the  outlets,  which  are  always  entirely 
too  small.  A  very  simple  and  self-evident  rule  is 
that  no  trap  except  a  water-closet  trap  should  be 
larger  or  smaller  than  the  waste-pipe  at  its  most  con- 

1  This  was  written  before  the  "  Sanitas "  basin  was  put  on  the 
market. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  69 

tracted  point  and  no  fixture  outlet  should  be  smaller 
(in  its  clear  water-way)  at  any  part  than  the  trap. 
In  no  other  way  can  the  pipes  and  traps  be  properly 
flushed  or  the  fixtures  emptied  with  the  desired 
rapidity.  Hence,  since  we  find  the  best  size  for 
waste-pipes  for  all  lavatories  is  1  £  inch  or  1^  inch  in 
inside  diameter,  except  in  certain  cases  hereafter  to 
be  referred  to,  no  trap  should  be  greater  or  smaller 
than  this.  Moreover  it  is  very  important  to  bear 
in  mind  that  the  measure  of  a  trap  is  the 
diameter  of  its  inlet  and  outlet  pipes  at  their  smallest 
part.  Traps  are  arbitrarily  measured  without  regard 
to  their  real  discharging  capacity,  but  generally 
from  the  diameter  of  the  inlet-pipe  at  its  lower  end, 
which  is  in  most  cases  much  larger  than  the  smallest 
part  of  the  trap.  Many  traps  are  sold  as  IJ-inch 
traps  which  are  contracted  at  some  point  to  seven 
eighths  of  an  inch  or  even  five  eighths  of  an  inch. 

The  size  of  a  trap,  then,  is  evidently  the  size  of  its 
smallest  part,  since  this  part  governs  its  capacity 
for  discharge. 

Guided  by  these  principles  we  have  the  following 
rule  :  The  discharging  capacity  of  the  outlet  of  every 
fixture  should  be  great  enough  to  fill  its  waste-pipe 
"full-bore,"  and  the  size  or  capacity  of  the  trap 
should  equal  that  of  the  outlet. 

PANTRY-SINKS . 

Pantry-sinks,  like  bathtubs,  may  be  classified  in 
the  same  manner  we  have  done  for  washbasins  ;  and 
here  again  the  open  stand-pipe  overflow  is  by  far 
the  best  and  most  convenient  form.  These  sinks 
should  be  constructed  of  tinned  and  planished  cop- 
per weighing  from  sixteen  to  twenty  ounces  to  the 
square  foot.  Iron  and  earthenware  sinks  are  made  ; 
but  they  are  objectionable  as  exposing  the  dishes 


70 


THE    PRINCIPLES    OP 


and  glassware  to  greater  danger  of  breakage.  For 
this  reason,  also,  cherry  slabs  are  preferable  to 
marble. 

Fig.  39  represents  an  oblong  pantry-sink  with 
a  stand-pipe  overflow  set  under  the  slab  as  has  been 
recommended  for  bathtubs  and  washbasins.  The 
whole  is  set  open  to  allow  of  easy  inspection  of  all 
parts. 


Fig.  39.    "  Sanitas  "  pantry-sink. 

The  waste-pipe  should  never  exceed  one  and  one- 
quarter  or  one  and  one-half  inch  in  diameter  ;  and 
the  outlet  should  have  a  capacity  large  enough  to 
fill  this  pipe  full-bore.  The  sink  should  be  trapped 
with  an  antisiphon  trap  of  the  size  of  the  waste- 
pipe. 

There  are  plumbers  who  still  ignorantly  insist 
that  a  pot-trap  is  suitable  for  sinks  on  account  of 
the  formation  of  grease.  Let  us  examine  the  man- 
ner in  which  a  pot-trap  deals  with  this  material. 
Does  it  collect  the  grease  and  preserve  it  in  its 
body  until  such  a  time  as  it  may  become  convenient 
to  remove  it,  or  does  it  in  some  wav  alter  its  chemical 


DRAINAGE. 


71 


constitution  so  as  to  deprive  it  of  its  power  to  clog 
the  drains?  It  is  evident,  upon  the  slightest  reflec- 
tion, that  it  can  do  neither.  It  isnotlarge  enough  to 
materially  cool  the  grease  nor  to  retain  any  consider- 
able amount  in  its  receiver.  It  could  not  intercept  as 
much  grease,  even  if  it  were  completely  stuffed  up 
with  it,  as  would  pass  through  the  sink  of  a  large 
establishment,  such  as  a  hotel,  or  clubhouse,  in  a 
day.  or  of  a  small  house  in  a  fortnight. 

The  outlet-arm  leaves  the  body  of  the  trap  very 
near  its  top,  as  near  as  the  solder  jointing  will 
allow.  Hence,  since  grease  is  lighter  than  water, 
it  will  rise  to  the  top  of  the  trap  and  the  first  that 
collects  there  in  any  large  quantity  will  necessarily 
obstruct  the  passage  of  the 
water.  The  trap  can  only 
retain  in  its  body  the  small 
quantity  of  grease  which 
would  fill  the  corners  remote 
from  the  outlet -arm,  as 
shown  in  Fig.  40.  The 
heavier  matters  carried  into 
the  trap  along  with  the  grease 
fall,  on  the  other  hand,  to 
the  bottom.  These  matters 
consist  of  bits  of  meat,  bone, 
and  vegetable.  They  form  a 

foul  sediment  on  the  bottom  of  the  trap  and  rapidly 
putrefy.  The  force  of  the  water  is  generally  suffi- 
cient to  keep  a  passageway  open  for  itself  for  a 
considerable  length  of  time.  Hence,  after  the 
corners  have  become  filled  with  the  black  and  rot- 
ting mass,  the  grease  will  pass  through  this  trap 
exactly  as  it  would  through  an  ordinary  S  trap. 

Having  no  proper  tools  to  unscrew   the  tightly 
sticking  cleanout  cap,  the  owner,  after  vainly  ham- 


Fig.  40.    Pot-trap  fouled. 


72  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

mering  at,  and  disfiguring,  the  brasswork  with  such 
unsuitable  instrument  as  he  can  lay  hands  on,  is 
obliged  to  send  for  the  plumber. 

In  short,  it  stands  to  reason,  and  is  borne  out  in 
fact,  that  an  ordinary  pot-trap  has  really  no  merit 
whatever  as  a  sink  or  grease-trap.  It  is  neither 
large  enough  to  cool  and  retain  all  the  grease  nor 
small  enough  to  let  it  all  pass.  To  cool  the  grease 
enough  to  harden  it  before  it  passes  into  the  waste- 
pipes  beyond  the  trap  requires  a  large  cesspool  or 
regular  grease-trap.  In  many  cases  it  is  better  to  dis- 
pose of  the  grease  by  sudden  and  powerful  flushing. 
The  best  apparatus  I  know  of  for  this  purpose  is 
the  flush-pot,  which  is  nothing  more  than  a  sinkage 
with  strainer  in  the  bottom  of  the  sink,  so  arranged 
as  to  hold  the  waste-water  until  it  may  be  be  dis- 
charged, like  a  flush-tank,  to  scour  the  pipes  and 
hurry  away  the  grease  in  an  irresistible  torrent  to 
the  drains.2 

Many  plumbers  are  very  fond  of  the  pot-trap, 
just  as  in  old  times  they  were  fond  of  its  near  kin- 
dred, the  foul  D  trap,  and,  until  lately,  of  the  8 
trap,  because  they  were  able  to  make  them  by  hand 
in  spare  moments  on  a  "rainy  day."  But,  in  the 
long  run,  what  is  best  for  the  public  is  best  for  the 
plumber.  Every  additional  complication  of  the 
plumbing,  and  everything  which  detracts  from  its 
convenience,  safety,  and  reliability,  diminishes  the 
amount  of  plumbing  the  public  will  allow  in  their 
houses,  casts  discredit  on  the  art,  and  distrust  on 
the  plumber. 

Pot-traps,  like  S  traps,  are,  however,  now  also 
made  by  machinery.  Moreover,  new  conditions 
have  originated  new  occupation  for  the  plumbers' 

8  The  "Dececo"  flush-pot  is  manufactured  by  the  "Drainage 
Construction  Co.,"  Newport,  R.  I.  An  excellent  form  of  flush-pot 
is  described  by  Wm.  Paul  Gerhard,  C.E.,  in  his  "  Domestic  Sanitary 
Appliances." 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


73 


spare  moments  on  "  rainy  days."  The  use  of  the 
flanged  iron  soil-pipe  furnishes  him  with  this  de- 
sideratum. The  lead  rings  for  the  joints  are  cast 
in  the  plumber's  shop  as  occasion  demands  in  small, 
simple  moulds  furnished  by  the  manufacturers  for 
the  purpose.  The  plumber  casts  in  leisure  moments 
a  stock  of  these  rings  large  enough  to  last  him 
through  the  busy  seasons,  and  finds  no  reason  to 
complain  of  the  machine-making  of  the  pot- trap. 
Ultimately,  it  is  probable  that  the  S  trap,  except 


Fig.  41.    Laundry-tubs. 

for  water-closets,  and  the  pot- trap,  machine  as  well 
as  hand  made,  will  disappear  from  good  plumbing 
work  altogether. 

LAUNDRY-TUBS. 

Laundry -tubs  are  made  of  wood,  soapstone,  gal- 
vanized iron,  enameled  iron,  and  porcelain. 

Wooden  tubs  should  only  be  used  in  places  where 
their  use  is  constant ;  otherwise  they  shrink  in  the 
intervals  of  disuse  and  become  dirty  and  leaky. 


74  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF    HOIM:     DKAIXACK. 

Soapstone  sinks  are  most  widely  used  on  account 
of  economy  and  their  general  serviceableness. 

The  handsomest  and  best,  as  well  as  the  most 
expensive,  are  the  heavy  porcelain  travs  shown  in 
Fig.  41.  A  single  one  and  a  half -inch  antisiphon 
trap  is  sufficient  for  an  entire  set  of  laundry  trays, 
but  no  pot- trap  should  ever  be  used. 

The  discharging  capacity  or  size  of  the  bore  of 
a  trap  should  always  be  very  nearlv  as  great  as  that 
of  the  waste-pipes  to  which  it  is  connected,  in  order 
that  its  water  discharge  may  thoroughly  scour  the 
pipes.  The  fixture-outlet  should  also  always  be 
large  enough  to  fill  the  waste-pipes  and  trap  full- 
bore,  in  order  to  allow  of  their  proper  flushing  every 
time  the  fixture  is  used,  and  also  to  effect  a  rapid 
emptying  of  the  fixture. 

When  a  washbasin  is  constructed  with  a  very 
contracted  outlet,  the  discharge  will  be  very  slow 
and  the  pipes  will  accumulate  sediment.  If  a  trap 
having  a  very  small  outlet,  smaller  even  than  that  of 
the  basin,  be  used  with  such  a  basin,  the  discharge 
will  sometimes  be  more  rapid  than  when  a  properly 
constructed  trap  is  used,  because  the  waste-pipe 
between  the  basin-outlet  and  the  contracted  trap 
will  be  filled  full-bore  and  create  a  strong  suction 
which  will  assist  in  emptying  the  basin.  When  the 
plumber  is  obliged  to  set  a  "  Sanitas  "  trap  under 
one  of  these  ill-constructed  basins  with  contracted 
outlet,  and  finds  the  discharge  sluggish,  the  rapidity 
may  be  increased  by  contracting  the  waste  just  at  its 
point  of  junction  with  the  body  of  the  trap,  until 
he  trap  has  a  discharging  capacity  less  than  that  of 
the  basin-outlet.  This  practice  is,  however,  not  to 
be  recommended.  It  is  better  to  have  a  full-sized 
trap,  even  if  the  basin  discharges  slowlv.  But  the 
only  proper  course  is  to  obtain  basins  which  have 
properly  constructed  outlets. 


WATER-CLOSETS. 


We  have  used   plunger-closets   in   our  tests  for 
siphonage   because   these   closets   produce  the   se- 


Fig.  42. 

verest  siphoning  action.  It  is  probable  that  some 
forms  of  valve-closets  would  come  very  near  them, 
however,  in  this  effect.  But  valve  and  plunger 


7fi 


THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 


closets,  like  pan-closets  and  mechanical  seal  traps, 
are  now  condemned  by  sanitarians  as  unsanitary 
and  far  inferior  to  simple  hoppers. 


Fig.  43.    Valve-closet. 

Fig.  42  represents  in  section  the  ordinary  pan- 
closet.  Enough  has  been  said  by  all  who  have  any 
knowledge  of,  or  interest  in,  sanitary  plumbing 
about  the  evils  of  this  form  of  fixture  :  its  large  and 
foul  receiver,  which  never  becomes  cleansed  except 
when  the  closet  is  taken^apart  and  subjected  to  ere- 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  77 

mation ;  its  complicated  form  and  noisy  action ;  its 
flimsy  construction  and  its  numerous  vent-holes  for 
the  admission  into  the  house  of  the  unwholesome 
odors  generated  in  the  receiver.  All  are  becoming 
aware  of  the  dangers  arising  from  these  defects,  and 
it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  dwell  upon  them.  The 
one  single  reason  why  the  pan-closet,  with  its  com- 
plicated machinery  and  the  fifty-one  distinct  pieces 


Fig.  44.    Plunger-closet. 

required  to  construct  it,  is  sold  so  much  cheaper 
than  other  kinds  is  because  these  materials  are  of 
the  thinnest  and^  flimsiest  character,  and  no  attempt 
is  made  to  prevent  the  diffusion  of  its  foul  gases 
through  the  pan-journal  bearings  and  the  opening 
made  by  the  pan  in  usage. 

Figs.  43  and  44  represent  respectively  types  of 
the  valve  and  plunger  closets.  These  closets  are 
equally  complicated  in  construction  with  the  pan- 
closet  and  are  equally  objectionable  in  the  theory 
of  their  construction.  Practically  they  are  better 
made,  because  most  of  those  in  use  are  patented 
articles.  Being  of  more  solid  and  honest  construc- 
tion they  command  a  higher  price  ;  but  they  are 


78  THE    PRINCIPLES    OP 

very  liable  to  leak  and  get  out  of  order,  and  are  no 
longer  recommended  by  unbiased  judges. 

A  few  years  ago,  before  systematic  ventilation  of 
the  sewers  and  soil-pipes  became  universal,  a  tight- 
fitting  valve  or  plunger  might  have  served  a  good 
purpose  in  resisting  back-pressure,  and,  as  these 
closets  were  at  first  built  without  overflows,  the 
valve  or  plunger  performed  in  a  measure  an  actual 
service  in  reducing  the  chances  of  sewer-gas  leak- 
age. 

Now,  however,  the  circumstances  are  altered.  It 
is  found  that  an  overflow  is  necessary  in  these  closets 
and  this  overflow-passage  is  rarely  provided  with  a 
mechanical  closure.  Hence  any  gases  which  could 
pass  an  ordinary  water-seal  could  pass  through  these 
closets  by  way  of  the  overflow-passage  quite  regard- 
less of  and  quite  as  easily  as  if  the  valve  or  plunger 
in  the  trap  never  existed.  Moreover,  the  ventilation 
of  the  sewer  and  soil  pipes  renders  back-pressure 
under  ordinary  conditions  impossible,  so  that  the 
onlv  useful  office  which  the  valve  or  plunger  could 
perform  in  relation  to  sewer-gas  is  no  longer  called 
for. 

The  valve  and  plunger  evidently  cannot  prevent 
the  loss  of  water-seal  from  siphouage,  momentum, 
evaporation,  or  suction,  even  where  the  overflow- 
passage  is  closed  by  a  ball,  as  is  the  case  with  some 
of  the  Jennings  valve  and  plunger  closets ;  for 
siphonage,  momentum,  and  suction  act  in  the 
direction  in  which  the  overflow-ball  or  valve  is 
opened,  and  evaporation  is  chiefly  due  to  trap  ven- 
tilation. Moreover,  the  tightness  of  a  valve  or 
plunger  against  its  seat  can  never  be  implicitly  re- 
lied on.  They  are  always  liable  to  leak,  and  could 
never  be  fitted  with  such  microscopic  accuracy  as  to 
prevent  the  passage  of  any  microorganisms  —  the 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  79 

bacteria,  or  disease-germs,  or  their  spores — which 
might  be  iu  the  water,  through  the  minute  openings 
which  exist  between  the  particles  forming  the  valve 
and  its  seat. 

The  only  object  of  the  valve  or  plunger,  there- 
fore, is  to  retain  a  certain  quantity  of  water  in  the 
bowl  so  long  as  they  remain  in  working  order.  But 
it  is  found  that  this  result  can  be  accomplished 
equally  well  and  much  more  reliably  by  simpler 
means. 

The  receiver  or  container  of  these  closets  is  open 
to  the  same  objections  as  that  of  the  pan,  differing 
only  in  degree,  and  the  overflow-passage,  not 
required  in  the  latter,  forms  a  second  filth-collector, 
and  increases  the  cost  and  complexity  of  the  closet. 

HOPPER-CLOSETS. 

For  the  before  -  men- 
Itioned  reasons  sanitarians 
are  united  in  condemning 
all  mechanical  seal-closets 
and  in  recommending  the 
improved  hopper  -  closet. 

The  old  style  of  hopper, 
commonlv  designated  the 

Fig.45.    The  «8hort»  hopper,    i.  long»  "  and       »  short" 

hoppers,  are  objectionable  as  providing  no  sufficiently 
large  body  of  standing  water  for  the  reception  of 
the  soil.  The  sides  of  the  bowl  in  these  kinds  be- 
come rapidly  fouled,  and  this  form  of  hopper  is 
never  to  be  recommended  except  where  the  circum- 
stances require  the  use  of  pails  for  flushing.  They 
are  not  fit  for  the  better  class  of  houses  because  the 
trouble  necessary  to  keep  them  clean  will  not  be 
endured ;  nor  for  the  poorer  class,  because  the 
trouble  will  not  be  taken  and  the  closet  soon  be- 


THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 


comes  a  nuisance  in  the  house.  Or  if,  by  exception, 
cleanliness  in  this  direction  be  insisted  upon,  the 
extra  labor  and  consumption  of  water  soon  offsets 
the  saving  in  first  cost. 

IMPROVED    HOPPER-CLOSETS. 

There  are  several  forms  of  improved  hopper 
water-closets,  among  which  the  best  are  the  follow- 
ing :  — 


a^oi 

Fig.  46.    Ordinary  "  wash-out "  closet. 

Fig.  46  represents  an  ordinary  wash-out  closet. 
It  contains  the  large  surface  of  standing  water  for 
the  reception  and  deodonzation  of  the  soil.  The 
flushing-stream  sweeps  across  the  bottom  of  the 
bowl  with  great  force  and  drives  the  wastes  before  it 
into  the  trap.  Whether  or  not  the  trap  itself  be 
emptied  depends  upon  the  length  of  time  the  flush- 
ing is  continued  after  the  bowl  is  cleared. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


SI 


The  objections  to  this  form  of  hopper  are :  (a) 
the  presence  of  the  extended  pipe  surface  between 
the  bowl  and  the  trap,  and  the  inaccessibility  and 
invisibility  of  the  latter ;  (6)  its  extravagant  con- 
sumption of  water,  the  waste  matters  often  whirling 
about  some  time  in  the  bowl  before  they  are  driven 
out ;  (c)  its  excessive  noisiness  in  action  ;  and  finally 
(d),  the  spattering  occasioned  by  the  violence  of 
the  flushing. 

i     ;  }  Fig.  47   repre- 

sents a  closet  con- 
structed with  a 
double  trap,  one 
below  the  other. 
This  water-closet, 
which  is  called  the 
"Tidal  -Wave," 
works  on  the 
principle  of  the 
siphon.  The  air 
between  the  traps 
is  exhausted  by 
the  action  of  the 
valve  and  cistern. 

Fig.  47.    Uoyle's  "  tidal-wave  "  water-closet.   -phis     unites      the 

two  bodies  of  water  in  the  traps  and  forms  the  siphon 
which  empties  the  bowl.  This  apparatus  has  lately 
been  considerably  improved  by  its  manufacturers, 
and  as  now  made  forms  a  very  excellent  closet. 

Fig.  48  represents  the  "  Dececo  "  closet.  This 
is  a  simple  and  effective  apparatus,  and  works  on 
the  principle  of  the  Field's  flush-tank. 

A  weir-chamber  is  used  below  the  trap  to  assist 
in  charging  the  siphon.  The  weir-chamber  is  just 
below  the  floor.  In  order  to  charge  the  siphon  the 
water  is  let  into  the  basin  through  the  supply-pipe 
and  the  flushing-rim  until  it  overflows  the  outlet  of 


82 


THE    PRINCIPLES    OP 


the  trap  and  falls  into  the  weir-chamber  below. 
This  closes  the  inlet  of  the  weir-chamber  before  it 
can  escape  through  the  outlet  and  prevents  the  air 
from  entering  the  siphon.  The  air  already  there  is 
carried  out  by  the  current  of  water  and  the  siphon 
is  formed.  As  soon  as  the  water  in  the  bowl 
descends  to  the  bottom  of  the  dip  of  the  trap  air 
follows  it  and  breaks  the  siphon. 


Fig.  48.    "  Dececo  "  water-closet. 

The  bowl  is  then  refilled  by  the  afterwash.  This 
closet  is  an  ingenious  one  ;  it  is  simple  and  durable, 
and  the  later  and  better  forms  seem  to  produce  in- 
variably the  siphonic  action  in  the  manner  described, 
giving  the  requisite  flushing  without  spattering  or 
waste  of  water.  It  should  not  be  used  as  an  ash- 
barrel  or  receptacle  for  all  kinds  of  rubbish.  When 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


properly   used   it   is   a   closet   which   never   needs 
repair. 

Compared  with  the  "  wash-out"  closet  of  Fig.  40, 
these  points  of  advantage  arc  to  be  noted  here  : 
(1)  The  depth  of  water  in  the  bowl  is  much 
greater  where  depth  is  needed  to  receive  and  deod- 
orize the  soil.  (2)  The  trap  is  in  sight  and  the 
walls  of  the  outlet  are  under  water  and  are  odorless 
instead  of  the  reverse,  as  in  the  "  wash-out"  closet, 
(o)  The  water-seal  in  the  trap  is  twice  as  deep 
and  therefore  better  able  to  resist  the  influence  of 
siphonage,  etc. 

THE  "  SANITAS"    WATER-CLOSET. 

Figs.  49,  50,  and  51  represent  in  section  and  plan 
the  "•  Sanitas  "  water-closet.  The  form  is  absolutely 


Rear: 


Fronf 


Fig.  49.    Longitudinal  section. 

simple.  The  bowl  and  trap  are  one  and  the  same 
thing,  inasmuch  as  each  forms  the  other.  The 
Hushing  is  accomplished  without  machinery  of  any 
kind  in  the  closet,  but  by  the  pressure  of  the  water 
only,  and  the  quantity  of  water  required  is  reduced 
to  a  minimum.  The  supply-pipe  (see  Fig.  50)  enters 
the  bowl  below  the  normal  level  of  the  standing 
water  therein,  and  stands  permanently  full  of  water 


THE    PRINCIPLES   OP 


Fig.  51.    Plan. 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE. 


85 


up  to  the  cistern- valve.  This  water  is  held  in  the 
supply-pipe  by  atmospheric  pressure,  the  pipe  being 
closed  at  the 'top  by  the  cistern-valve  and  at  the 
bottom  by  the  water  in  the  closet-bowl.  The  lower 
end  of  the  supply-pipe  is  perforated  at  two  places 


.  52.    Front  view. 


independent  of  each  other :  first,  at  a  point  inter- 
mediate between  the  overflow  of  the  trap  and  its 
dip ;  and,  second,  at  the  bottom  of  the  trap.  The 
first  supplies  water  to  the  flushing-rim,  and  the 
second  furnishes  a  jet  which  lifts  part  of  the  water 
out  of  the  trap  and  bowl  by  its  propelling  power. 
Since  both  jets  enter  below  the  level  of  a  large 
body  of  standing  water  in  the  bowl,  they  act  noise- 
lessly, and,  as  the  supply-pipe  stands  always  full, 
they  act  instantly,  and  the  flushing  of  the  closet  is 


86  THE    PRINCIPLES    OP 

very  rapid.  The  operation  is  as  follows :  Upon 
opening  the  cistern-valve  the  water  in  the  supply- 
pipe  is  instantly  set  in  motion  by  the  pressure  of 
the  atmosphere  on  the  surface  of  the  cistern  and 
escapes  through  the  two  orifices  in  powerful  jets.  The 
lower  jet  removes  part  of  the  water  from  the  trap 
and  causes  the  water  and  waste  matters  in  the 
water-closet  to  sink  into  the  neck  of  the  bowl. 
Meanwhile  the  upper  jet  fills  the  passage  leading  to 
the  flushing-rim,  and,  descending  into  the  neck  of 
the  bowl,  falls  upon  and  drives  out  the  waste 
matters  collected  in  the  neck  without  noise  or  waste 
of  water.  The  action  is  almost  instantaneous. 
The  cistern-valve  being  again  closed,  movement  in 
the  supply-pipe  immediately  ceases,  and  the  water 
in  the  flushing-rim  and  passages  leading  thereto  falls 
back  into  the  closet  and  restores  the  normal  level 
of  the  standing  water  in  the  bowl  and  trap. 

The  form  of  the  closet-bowl  is  such  that  the  sur- 
face of  the  standing  water  therein  is  very  large.  It 
has  the  shape  best  calculated  to  receive  and 
deodorize  the  waste  matters  falling  into  it.  The 
water  is  deepest  at  the  back  of  the  closet,  and 
very  deep  at  the  point  where  the  wastes  strike. 
All  parts  of  the  trap  and  bowl  are  easily  accessible 
from  the  bowl  itself,  and  there  is  no  superfluous 
space  and  no  surface  which  is  •  not  thoroughly 
scoured  by  the  flushing-streams  in  the  normal  usage 
of  the  closet.  There  is  no  invisible  trap  below  the 
bowl,  and  when  the  closet  appears  to  be  flushed 
clean  it  is  so. 

This  closet  can  be  easily  flushed  in  one  second  by 
less  than  a  gallon  and  a  half  of  water.  There  are 
several  advantages  in  having  the  supply -pipe  of  a 
closet  enter  below  the  level  of  the  water  in  the  bowl 
and  closed  above  with  a  valve  without  air-pipe  so 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  87 

that  it  shall  remain  always  full  of  water.  In  the 
first  place  its  action  is  instantaneous  and  noiseless. 
The  water  does  not  have  to  fall  from  the  cistern  to 
the  closet  before  it  begins  to  work.  In  the  second 
place  the  friction  of  air  in  the  pipe  is  avoided  and 
the  water  exerts  at  once  its  full  power  in  discharging 
the  waste  matters.  Hence  a  very  considerable 
economy  of  water  is  the  result.  As  already  stated, 
the  upper  orifice  is  placed  below  the  level  of  the 
standing  water  in  the  closet-bowl,  but  above  the 
dip  of  the  trap.  This  position  of  the  upper  jet  gives 
us  another  very  important  advantage.  Should  the 
water  in  the  closet  be  lowered  by  evaporation  or 
siphonage  below  the  upper  orifice,  air  will  at  once 
enter  the  supply-pipe  through  this  orifice  and  water 
will  then  descend  from  the  pipe  into  the  closet 
through  the  lower  orifice,  until  the  upper  orifice  is 
again  covered,  and  the  seal  of  the  trap  is  thus  auto- 
matically maintained  by  the  water  in  the  supply- 
pipe.  This  pipe  may  be  made  capacious  enough  to 
restore  the  seal  as  often  as  it  is  likely  ever  to  re- 
quire it.  A  pipe  1£  or  If  inches  in  diameter  and 
six  feet  long  will  contain  water  enough  to  secure  the 
seal  against  destruction  by  evaporation  for  a  great 
many  months,  even  in  the  dryest  and  hottest  weather. 
Hence  the  closet  may  be  left  to  itself  in  city  houses 
for  the  entire  summer's  vacation,  without  fear  on 
this  score,  and  the  danger  of  a  loss  of  seal  through 
siphonage  is  also  reduced  to  a  minimum.  The  seal 
of  this  closet  is  over  three  inches  deep.  Such  a  seal 
is  difficult  to  break  by  siphonage,  even  without  the 
use  of  our  automatic  supply-pipe,  which  I  have 
called  the  "  Sanitas  "  water-closet  supply-pipe. 

It  will  be  observed  that  the  closet  is  provided  with 
a  ventilation  opening  near  the  crown  of  the  trap. 
This  ventilation  will  seldom  if  ever  be  required  to 


88  THE    PRINCIPLES   OF 

prevent  external  siphoning  action.  But  it  is  useful  to 
break  the  siphon  which  would  be  formed  in  the 
closet-trap  itself  during  the  flushing,  and  thereby 
prevent  the  noise  which  the  formation  of  such  a 
siphon  would  occasion  in  use. 

Hence,  where  it  is  desired  to  have  the  closet  act 
noiselessly,  a  short,  two-inch  vent-pipe  should  be 
used  to  connect  the  crown  of  the  trap  with  the  soil- 
pipe  immediately  on  a  line  with  it  or  with  any  other 
convenient  point  of  the  soil-pipe  near  by.  Moreover, 
the  law  at  present  in  some  cities  requires  every  trap 
to  be  vented  regardless  of  consequences.  So  that 
such  a  vent-opening  may  at  times  be  needed  to  con- 
form to  the  requirements  of  this  arbitrary  and  ill- 
considered  provision.  It  will  also  be  observed  that 
the  closet  is  provided  with  a  cistern-overflow  con- 
nection which  may  serve  also  when  desired  for  a 
bowl  ventilation  pipe  connection. 

An  important  advantage  in  having  the  trap  and 
bowl  of  a  water-closet  combined  in  this  simple  form 
is  that  they  may  be  easily  emptied  in  winter  to  pre- 
vent freezing.  This  is  particularly  desirable  in  the 
case  of  summer  residences  which  are  closed  up  in 
winter.  The  water  may  be  easily  sponged  or 
pumped  out  of  this  closet  without  taking  it  apart, 
whereas  closets  having  inaccessible  traps  under  the 
bowl  or  floor  cannot  be  emptied  or  cleansed  without 
taking  the  apparatus  to  pieces,  and  in  the  case  of 
many  forms  of  wash-out  closets  where  the  trap 
under  the  bowl  is  in  a  single  piece  of  earthenware 
with  the  bowl,  the  emptying  or  cleansing  of  the  trap 
is  either  very  difficult  or  altogether  impossible. 

The  upper  flushing  is  accomplished  without  spat- 
tering because  the  pressure  of  the  upper  jet  is 
relieved  at  the  upper  orifice,  and  the  water  quietly 
overflows  the  rim  of  the  bowl.  Fig.  52  gives  a 
front  view  of  the  u  Sanitas  "  closet. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


89 


LATRINES    AND    TROUGH    WATER-CLOSETS 

are  designed  for  use  in  public  places  where  an 
attendant  can  be  employed  to  take  constant  charge 
of  them,  and  where  water  is  so  abundant  that  its 
extravagant  consumption  is  no  disadvantage. 
Trough  water-closets  consist  of  a  long  reservoir  or 
trough,  inclined  toward  one  end,  where  a  discharge- 
plug  is  placed,  and  having  a  single  or  double  row 
of  water-closet  seats  placed  over  it,  so  that  all  the 


Fig.  53.    Latrines. 

closets  are  flushed  together,  or,  in  other  words,  so 
that  the  flushing  of  one  necessitates  the  flushing  of 
all  the  rest  in  the  series  connected  with  it.  They 
are  constructed  in  different  manners,  either  of 
brickwork  having  vertical  sides  and  rounded  bottom, 
or  of  iron,  usually  enameled. 

«  Latrines  (Fig.  53)  are  practically  trough  water- 
closets  having  the  trough  diminished  in  size,  and  a 
bowl  or  funnel  discharging  into  it  under  each  seat. 
The  bowls  are  constructed  of  earthenware  or  white 
enameled  iron,  and  the  trough  or  pipe  with  which 
they  are  connected  is  made  of  iron,  and  has  a  trap 
at  its  end  under  the  discharge-plug.  In  the  figure 


90  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

the  discharge-plug  is  hollow,  and  consists  of  a 
stand-pipe  with  overflow-passage  through  it.  The 
height  of  the  overflow  regulates  the  position  of  the 
standing  water  in  the  bowls.  The  plunger  or  dis- 
charge-plug is  under  the  control  of  the  attendant, 
who  flushes  the  closets  as  often  as  he  considers  it 
advisable.  The  bowls  are  so  constructed  that  the 
waste  matters  fall  directly  into  the  standing  water, 
and  nothing  strikes  their  dry  sides  ;  they  are  thus 
partially  deodorized.  But  the  liquid  and  soluble 
portions  of  the  solid  wastes,  which  are  allowed  by 
the  faithful  attendant  to  remain  for  some  length  of 
time  in  the  latrines,  as  well  for  the  sake  of 
economizing  water  as  to  enable  him  to  attend  to  his 
other  duties,  soon  precipitate  a  slimy  deposit  all 
along  the  inner  surface  of  the  closet,  and  particu- 
larly around  the  plunger-chamber.  This  is  not 
easily  removed,  and  always  forms  more  or  less  of 
a  nuisance.  In  most  cases  it  will  be  found  much 
better  to  provide,  instead  of  latrines,  a  row  of  good 
hopper-closets,  with  treadle,  door,  or  seat  attach- 
ment for  automatic  flushing,  if  desired. 

SLOP-SINKS,  SLOP-HOPPER    SINKS,    AND    SLOP-HOPPERS. 

Figures  54  and  55  represent  two  kinds  of  fix- 
tures designed  for  the  reception  of  slops.  These 
have  no  means  provided  for  the  flushing  of  the 
walls  of  the  sink.  Either  may  be  provided 
with  a  flushing-rim  for  the  purpose.  But  the  use 
of  the  flushing-rim  in  private  houses  is  oftener 
neglected  than  observed.  Servants  will  not  take  the 
trouble  to  thoroughly  cleanse  the  slop-hopper  at 
every  usage,  and  it  soon  begins  to  emit  a  disgusting 
odor.  In  hotels  or  large  clubhouses,  where  their 
use  is  constant  and  under  systematic  supervision, 
where  special  attendants  are  detailed  to  take  charge 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  91 

of  them,  and  where  each  story  is  independently  pro- 
vided with  a  separate  slop-hopper,  their  use  may 
be  recommended  ;  but  in  private  houses  they  should 


Fig.  54.    Slop-sink. 

never   be   allowed.     A   good  hopper    water-closet, 
with  a  strong  enameled    iron  drip-tray  to   protect 


Fig.  55.    Slop-hopper  sink. 

the  bowl,  is  much  better,  inasmuch  as,  while  it 
serves  the  purposes  of  the  slop-hopper  equally  well, 
it  escapes  its  objections  in  ensuring  a  periodic  flush- 


92  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

ing.  Every  time  the  closet  is  used  for  the  pur- 
poses of  nature  it  is  thoroughly  flushed,  and  even 
slops  are  much  seldomer  allowed  to  stand  in  the 
bowl,  because  their  pi-esence  would  be  immediately 
detected  by  the  next  regular  user  of  the  water- 
closet,  and  the  damage  would  be  likely  to  "recoil 
upon  the  head  of  the  offender."  It  is  customary  in 
private  houses  to  place  the  slop-sink  in  the  attic, 
but  no  house-owner  can  give  any  better  reason  for 
its  existence  than  that  he  had  seen  it  in  some  other 
houses.  When  valve,  pan,  and  plunger  closets  were 
used  to  the  exclusion  of  the  more  modern  hopper, 
the  slop-sink  had  a  certain  raison  d'etre.  In  these 
closets,  especially  those  requiring  an  overflow-pas- 
sage, the  closure  of  the  outlet  is  apt  to  cause  an 
overflow  of  the  slops  when  a  large  pailful  is  poured 
in  quickly.  But  the  modern  hopper-closet  has  a 
clear,  open  passageway  into  the  drains,  and,  being 
provided  with  the  most  improved  form  of  flushing 
apparatus,  is,  in  fact,  the  best  form  of  slop-hopper 
that  has  been  devised.  Some  persons  who  have 
insisted,  even  contrary  to  the  advice  of  their  archi- 
tect or  sanitary  engineer  (who  now  unite  in  con- 
demning them),  upon  having  the  customary  slop- 
sink  duly  installed  in  their  attics,  wishing  to  have 
at  least  an  appearance  of  a  reason  for  their  way- 
wardness, urge  that  the  virtue  of  the  slop-sink  lies 
in  the  strainer :  this  serves  to  prevent  the  obstruc- 
tion of  the  drain  by  scrubbing-brushes,  rags,  large 
cakes  of  soap,  or  other  household  articles  used  in 
scrubbing,  capable  of  clogging  the  soil-pipe,  which 
a  careless  servant  might  throw  with  the  slops  into  the 
sink.  This  office  of  the  strainer  is  certainly  a  use- 
ful one,  and  if  every  story  in  the  house  contained  a 
slop-sink  provided  with  such  a  guard,  and  every 
water-closet  had  a  movable  or  portable  strainer 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  93 

endowed  with  sufficient  intelligence  to  close  the  out- 
let only  when  slops  were  poured  in,  the  soil-pipes 
might  really  be  protected  from  the  gross  careless- 
ness our  friends  so  much  feared.  But  as  such  a 
profusion  of  slop-sinks  and  strainers  is  evidently 
impossible  in  private  houses,  and  as  slops  are  col- 
lected in  every  story  of  the  house  as  well  as  in  the 
attic,  and  as  no  servant  careless  enough  to  throw 
scrubbing-brushes  into  a  water-trap  would  take  the 
trouble  to  lug  slops  from  the  lower  stories  up  to  the 
attic,  in  order  to  protect  the  neighboring  water- 
closet  trap  from  such  an  accident,  or,  in  other 
words,  mount  one  or  more  flights  of  stairs  to  avoid 
the  trouble  of  removing  the  scrubbing-brush  from 
the  slop-pail  before  emptying  the  slops  into  the 
nearest  water-closet  bowl,  it  is  evident  that  the 
argument  of  protection  to  soil-pipes  has  little 
weight. 

For  hotels  and  some  other  public  buildings,  the 
slop-sink  should  have  a  good  flushing-rim.  It  then 
becomes  the  so-called  "  slop-hopper,"  and  the  bowl 
should  be  properly  protected  by  a  stout  iron  drip- 
tray,  properly  supported,  to  receive  the  frequent 
blows  bestowed  upon  the  hopper  by  the  careless 
pail. 


As  they  are  generally  made,  urinals  are  very  objec- 
tionable things  in  private  houses.  Urine  undergoes 
rapid  decomposition,  and  gives  off  a  powerful  and 
very  disgusting  odor.  When  in  this  state,  it  has 
the  power  of  turning  fresh  urine  into  the  same  con- 
dition almost  immediately,  so  that  unless  the  urinal 
is  so  formed  and  placed  that  its  surfaces  are  thor- 
oughly cleansed  after  use,  it  soon  becomes  a  very 
foul  and  disagreeable  fixture  in  a  house.  Fig.  56 


94  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

represents  the  most  economical  form  of  urinal  as  they 
are  now  made.  The  bowl  is  generally  constructed 
of  glazed  earthenware,  with 
some  form  of  fan  or  flushing- 
rim  for  spreading  the  flush- 
ing stream  over  its  entire 
interior  surface.  The  urine 
escapes  through  numerous 
perforations  in  the  bottom 
and  back  of  the  bowl,  into 
the  waste-pipe.  In  some 
forms  the  trap  is  made  in  a 
single  piece  of  earthenware 
with  the  bowl.  There  are 
a  number  of  different  forms 
of  urinals,  both  swinging 
and  stationary,  and  they  are 
flushed  either  by  a  stop-cock 
directly  on  the  supply-pipe, 
to  be  turned  by  hand,  or  by 
a  special  cistern.  The  for- 
mer method  of  flushing  is 
open  to  the  same  objection 
Fig.  56.  uriuais.  as  the  direct  supply  to  water- 
closets,  and  is  now  forbidden 

in  some  places  by  law.  The  pressure  may  be  at 
times  insufficient  to  fill  the  pipes,  and  the  foul 
air  from  the  surfaces  of  the  urinal,  perhaps  contain- 
ing disease-germs,  may  be  sucked  into  the  supply- 
pipes  on  opening  the  stop-cock.  In  the  figure,  an 
automatic  flushing  cistern  is  used,  which  has  within 
it  a  tilting  vessel  arranged  to  give  a  periodic  flush 
as  it  slowly  fills  under  a  small  faucet  kept  constantly 
open.  This  is  perhaps  the  only  certain  method  of 
ensuring  a  sufficient  flush  for  single  urinals  con- 
structed in  the  usual  way ;  but  it  involves  a  great 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


consumption  of  water  and  is  very  wasteful,  inas- 
much as  the  flushing  goes  on  always,  whether  it  be 
required  by  the  use  of  the  urinal  or  not. 

For  private  houses  it  is  much  better  to  construct 
the  urinal  in  the  manner  shown  in  Fig.  57.  It  is 
a  simple  hopper-closet  raised  to  the  height  of  a 
urinal.  By  this  arrangement,  all  of  the  advantages 
of  a  urinal  are  obtained,  without  any  of  the  objec- 


Fig.  57.    Combined  urinal  and  slop-sink. 

tions.  Moreover,  by  stepping  on  the  steps  or  foot- 
rests  at  the  floor  in  front  of  the  fixture,  the  device 
serves  equally  well  as  a  water-closet.  The  writer  has 
found  by  experience  that  this  form  of  urinal  never 
becomes  foul,  nor  is  its  use  as  a  water-closet  accom- 
panied by  the  least  inconvenience.  He  has  used  it 
both  in  public  and  private  buildings  with  equal 


96  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF   HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 

success.  The  bowl,  containing  a  large  body  of  stand- 
ing water,  dilutes  the  urine,  and  prevents  it  fouling 
the  sides.  Habit,  with  water-closets,  leads  to  its 
flushing  after  its  use  as  a  urinal  at  times  when  the 
ordinary  form  of  urinal  would  have  been  left  un- 
flushed.  But  should,  by  any  chance,  the  flushing  be 
neglected,  the  next  use  of  the  fixture  as  a  water- 
closet  would  insure  its  cleansing.  Moreover,  by 
combining  the  two  fixtures  in  one,  economy  both  of 
space  and  first  cost  is  obtained,  while  the  offensive 
appearance  and  smell  of  the  urinal  is  avoided  and 
the  consumption  of  water  is  greatly  diminished.  Not 
the  least  of  the  advantages  of  this  arrangement  is 
that  it  is  suitable  for  use  by  both  sexes,  a  consider- 
ation of  some  importance,  especially  in  the  hall  of 
a  private  house,  where  the  want  of  space  limits  one 
to  the  use  of  a  single  fixture. 

In  public  buildings,  however,  such  as  hotels,  rail- 
way-stations, manufactories,  school  or  club  houses, 
where  proper  and  systematic  attention  may  be  ex- 
pected to  be  given  to  them,  urinals  may  become  not 
only  desirable,  but  absolutely  necessary.  Stall 
urinals  should  also  be  constructed  in  various  places 
in  the  main  thoroughfares,  easily  accessible  to  the 
public,  as  an  important  sanitary  measure. 


PART    III. 

SOIL  AND  DRAIN  PIPES. 

GENERAL    CONSIDERATIONS. 

The  material  for  our  pipes  naturally  f  oi-ms  the  first 
subject  for  consideration,  inasmuch  as  upon  it  their 
proportion,  treatment,  and  arrangement  in  a  great 
measure  depend. 

By  far  the  most  suitable  material  yet  discovered 
for  soil  and  house  drain-pipes  is  iron,  and  the  most 
important  matter  connected  with  its  use  is  the  for- 
mation of  the  joints  between  the  separate  pieces. 

Lead  has  been  almost  entirely  abandoned  in  this 
country  for  soil  and  drain  pipes,  on  account  of  its 
want  of  strength  and  rigidity,  its  comparative  high 
cost,  its  liability  to  be  perforated  by  vermin,  nails, 
or  corrosion,  and  of  the  greater  time  and  labor 
required  to  make  the  joints.  Large  lead  pipes  often 
sag  of  their  own  weight  and  tear  away  at  their 
points  of  support.  The  action  of  alternating  hot 
and  cold  water  also  produces  a  destructive  effect 
upon  the  material.  In  England  lead  soil-pipes  are 
still  used,  but  it  is  not  customary  to  use  the  soil- 
pipe  for  the  conveyance  of  all  kinds  of  waste,  and 
hot  water  from  lavatories  and  sinks  is  carried  into 
separate  pipes,  so  that  the  material  as  used  abroad 
is  less  objectionable. 

S.  Stevens  Hellyer,  the  well-known  and  popular 
English  writer  on  sanitary  plumbing,  says,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  question  as  to  the  material  most  suitable 


98  THE    PRINCIPLES   OF 

for  soil-pipes  :  "  This  may  scein  a  curious  question 
to  ask  of  plumbers  —  as  well  ask  a  shoemaker  of 
what  material  should  boots  and  shoes  be  made  ! 
Everybody  knows  that  the  latter  would  say : 
'  There's  nothing  like  leather,'  as  the  former  is  sure 
to  say  :  '  There 's  nothing  like  lead.'  .  .  .  Allowing 
experience  to  be  my  schoolmaster,  I  answer  lead, 
especially  for  our  climate."  Mr.  Hellyer  claims  the 
following  points  of  superiority  for  lead  :  its  greater 
smoothness,  greater  resistance  to  corrosion,  greater 
ductility  for  bending  to  suit  the  various  positions  it 
has  to  occupy,  more  perfect  jointing,  greater  adapt- 
ability for  connecting  with  branch  wastes,  and 
greater  compactness,  which  allows  it  to  be  placed  in 
slots  or  niches  smaller  than  those  which  are  required 
for  iron.  He  admits  the  following  objections  :  its 
deterioration  under  alterations  of  temperature  which 
tend  to  work  it  until  it  breaks,  its  sagging,  its  ex- 
pensiveness,  its  liability  to  be  perforated  by  rats  or 
carpenters'  nails,  its  greater  weight,  and  the  require- 
ment of  greater  skill  in  making  the  joints. 

The  advantages  which  Mr.  Hellver  claims  for  lead 
have  within  late  years  lost  their  force.  Improved 
methods  of  protecting  and  jointing  other  materials 
have  placed  them  in  these  respects  far  ahead  of 
lead,  as  will  be  shown  hereafter.  White  enamel  is 
now  applied  as  an  inner  coat  to  cast  iron  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  render  the  inner  surface  as  smooth  as 
that  of  new  lead.  But  in  use  lead  soon  loses  its 
smoothness,  the  sewage  adheres  to  the  surfaces  of 
the  pipe  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  and  roughens  it, 
in  time,  with  a  hard  deposit  of  greater  or  less  thick- 
ness according  to  the  usage  of  the  pipe,  so  that  the 
difference  in  smoothness  at  the  outset  in  favor  of 
lead  as  compared  with  an  iron  pipe,  properly  coated, 
is  of  small  consequence  after  a  few  years'  use. 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE.  99 

The  numerous  cast  bends  and  fittings  now  made  and 
adapted  to  every  possible  turn  or  angle  liable  to  be 
encountered  in  arranging  the  pipe  renders  the  duc- 
tility of  the  lead  pipe  no  longer  of  any  advantage. 
Finally,  other  and  more  suitable  materials  are  now 
jointed  in  such  a  manner  as  to  render  them  quite  as 
compact  as  the  lead  pipe. 

Stone  and  brick  drains  cannot  be  effectively 
flushed  on  account  of  the  roughness  of  their  interior 
surfaces.  Moreover,  they  are  porous  to  a  certain 
extent,  and  the  cement  with  which  they  are  laid  is 
always  more  or  less  pervious  to  water. 

Wooden  drains  soon  decompose  and  leak,  and 
when  made  of  plank  must  be  of  such  a  section  that 
scouring  is  impossible. 

Copper  is  easily  corroded  by  the  acids  of  sewage 
and  decomposition,  and  it  is,  moreover,  too  ex- 
pensive when  made  heavy  enough  for  the  purpose. 

Zinc,  tin,  and  galvanized  iron  are  totally  un- 
suitable, and  not  to  be  considered  for  a  moment. 
In  the  worst  kind  of  so-called  ' '  Gerry  buildings  " 
they  are,  however,  occasionally  used. 

CAST  IRON. 

Cast  iron  is  the  material  which  in  this  country  for 
the  last  twenty  years  has  been  most  generally  used. 
It  has  in  this  time  proved  itself  to  be  a  most  reliable 
and  excellent  material  for  soil-pipes.  It  is  light, 
cheap,  stiff,  and  strong,  and  it  corrodes  so  slowly 
that,  if  of  the  proper  thickness  and  quality  of  iron, 
and  properly  cast,  coated,  and  put  together,  it  will 
last  as  long  as  the  house.  The  inconveniences  at 
present  attending  its  use  are  not  inherent  in  the 
nature  of  the  material.  As  now  made,  the  pipes 
are  often  cast  of  uneven  thickness,  and  they  are 
always  improperly  jointed.  Neither  defect  is 
necessary. 


100  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

The  experiments  of  M.  Gaudin,  made  in  1851, 
show  the  maximum  rate  of  loss  by  rust  of  uncoated 
cast-iron  pipe  exposed  to  the  action  of  clean,  fresh 
water  on  both  sides  to  be  a  little  over  an  eighth  of 
an  inch  a  century.  His  experiments  extended 
over  a  period  of  thirteen  years.  With  the  present 
methods  of  protecting  iron,  its  life  can  be  very 
greatly  prolonged ;  indeed,  even  the  use  of  the 
ordinary  bituminous  coating  (coal-tar  pitch)  has 
proved,  when  it  is  properly  applied,  to  be  able  to  keep 
the  pipe  quite  intact  for  twenty  years.  The  life  of 
a  soil-pipe,  even  when  quite  thin  and  uncoated,  has 
been  found  by  experience  to  be  so  great  that  it  is 
not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  the  greasy  matters 
contained  in  sewage  serve  to  protect  the  pipe  in  a 
measure  from  the  water  and  from  the  corrosive 
action  of  the  acid  components  of  the  sewage. 

JOINTS. 

Equally  important  with  the  question  of  the  mate- 
rial is  the  manner  in  which  the  several  parts  are  put 
together,  inasmuch  as  upon  this  depends  not  only 
the  safety  of  the  work,  but  also,  in  a  measure,  the 
choice  of  the  material  itself.  The  question  of 
joining  or  coupling  the  pipe  will  therefore  next  be 
considered. 

The  ordinary  joint  is  neither  tight  nor  permanent ; 
it  cannot  be  made  to  resist  water  or  gas  under  pres- 
sure, and  it  is  soon  destroyed  by  alternations  of 
heat  and  cold  in  the  pipes,  such  as  are  often  produced 
by  the  passage  through  them  of  hot  water  or  steam. 
It  is  expensive  both  in  time  and  material.  It  re- 
quires expert  labor  to  adjust,  but  defies  expert 
labor  to  take  it  apart  again  without  more  or  less 
destruction  of  the  piping.  Even  the  process  of 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  101 

putting  together  involves  a  hammering  which  en- 
dangers the  integrity  of  the  pipe,  and  the  most 
experienced  and  careful  workman  often  cracks  it  in 
the  process.  The  safe  use  of  white  enameled  pipe 
is  out  of  the  question  with  the  calked  joint,  be- 
cause the  jarring  produced  by  the  calking-tool 
cracks  the  enamel. 

Fig.  58  shows  the  ordinary  hand-calked  joint. 
It  is  made  with  lead  and  oakum  or  jute.  A  gasket 
of  jute  or  other  similar  fibre  is  inserted  into  the 

,   _-L •      cavity  of  the  bell  or  hub,   and   the 

spigot  end  of  the  length  next  above 

it  is  set  firmly  down  upon  it,  or  the 

II  B     gasket   is   rammed    in   with    a    tool 

W  after  the  lengths  are   set   up.     The 

•  Bi  gasket  is  used  to  prevent  the  lead 

•P?  from  running  out  of   the   joint  and 

obstructing  the  bore  of   the   pipe  at 

some   point  below,  besides  wasting 

^          the  lead.     The   lead  is  now  poured 

Fig.  58.     The  ordi-  ,,  ,     ,    „  i    jf 

nary  beii-and-  upon  the  gasket  trom  a  ladle  and 
spigot  joint.  shrinks  as  it  cools.  The  calking- 
tool  must  then  be  used  to  expand  it  again  and  drive 
it  into  the  cavities  and  pores  of  the  iron.  A  faith- 
ful and  skilful  operator  can  by  perseverance  suc- 
ceed in  fitting  the  lead  into  the  iron  at  all  parts  of 
its  circumference,  so  as  to  make  it  tight  for  a  time, 
just  as  a  painstaking  dentist  can  drive  the  gold  by 
patient  labor  into  the  cavities  of  a  tooth,  and  tem- 
porarily arrest  its  decay.  But  the  process  in  both 
cases  is  slow  and  uncertain.  The  dentist  confines 
his  calking  to  a  single  small  spot  well  within  his 
reach,  and  he  labors  with  extraordinary  care.  Yet 
the  filling  often  fails  when  put  to  the  test.  The 
plumber  must  work  quickly  over  an  extended  field 
often  in  awkward  positions  ;  he  must  perform  a  deli- 
cate task  with  clumsv  tools. 


102  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

The  metals  to  be  welded  together  are  often  so 
placed  that  it  is  impossible,  without  the  utmost 
patience  and  skill,  to  reach  them  properly.  The 
result  is  that  when  put  to  the  test  the  joint  almost 
always  fails.  Extra  heavy  pipe  and  hubs  are  re- 
quired to  withstand  the  blows  of  the  calking-tool. 
Lighter  pipes  cannot  be  made  tight  without  danger 
of  cracking  the  iron.  It  is  now  generally  recognized 
and  acknowledged  that  a  plumber's  calked  joint  is 
rarely  either  air  or  water  tight,  though  a  vast 
amount  of  lead  and  labor  is  spent  on  them  to  make 
them  so.  When  we  reflect  that  the  sole  aim  and 
object  of  a  soil-pipe  joint  is  to  make  a  gas  and 
water  tight  connection  between  pipes,  we  see  that 
the  method  commonly  employed  is  an  absurdity, 
and  reflects  little  credit  upon  human  ingenuity. 

Even  supposing  that,  by  chance,  a  calked  joint 
has  been  made  to  stand  the  test  which  is  now  prop- 
erly required  of  it  when  new,  its  tightness  is  very 
soon  destroyed  by  the  expansion  and  contraction  of 
the  pipes  caused  by  the  passage  through  them  of 
hot  water  or  steam.  The  expansion  of  the  spigot 
is  in  such  cases  greater  than  that  of  the  hub,  be- 
cause it  is  on  the  inside  nearer  the  heat  and  not 
protected  like  the  latter  from  the  hot  fluids  passing 
through  the  pipes.  Hence  the  lead  is  temporarily 
compressed  between  the  spigot  and  hub,  and,  being 
inelastic,  does  not  resume  its  original  bulk  when  the 
pipes  cool  again.  A  minute  opening  is  thus  formed 
all  round  the  spigot,  as  shown  in  the  lower  branch 
of  the  pipe  in  the  cut,  and  the  joint  leaks. 

The  object  of  requiring  the  whole  system  of  pipes 
used  in  plumbing  a  house  to  be  filled  with  water  as 
a  test  is  not  only  to  determine  the  tightness  of  the 
joints  in  a  manner  which  is  impossible  with  the 
peppermint  or  smoke  tests,  since  these  can  be 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  103 

eluded  by  a  temporary  coat  of  paint  or  putty,  but 
also  to  try  the  quality  and  thickness  of  the  metal. 
If  a  pipe  is  very  defective  in  casting,  its  weakness 
will  be  revealed  by  a  strong  pressure  test,  and  the 
faulty  piece  rejected. 

Another  serious  objection  to  this  joint  is  the 
difficulty  of  disjointing  pipes  in  which  it  is  used. 
The  usual  way  to  take  out  a  pipe,  once  so  put 
together,  is  to  break  it  to  pieces,  and  then  remove 
it  by  degrees.  There  is,  in  fact,  no  practicable 
alternative  ;  for  to  melt  off  the  lead  would  not  only 
be  expensive  and  dangerous,  but  involve  the  dis- 
jointing of  quite  a  considerable  length  of  pipe  in 
order  to  enable  a  single  spigot  to  be  lifted  two 
inches,  or  enough  to  disengage  it  from  its  hub. 
Now  alterations  in  our  plumbing  arrangements  are 
necessarily  so  frequent  that  this  objection  becomes 
a  serious  one. 

The  necessity  of  using  fire  in  a  house  in  process 
of  construction  for  melting  the  lead  necessary  to 
make  this  joint  is  also  a  formidable  objection  to  it, 
on  account  of  the  danger  of  igniting  the  surround- 
ing carpenters'  litter  and  burning  down  the  house. 

It  is  true  that  lead  or  solder  melting  would  have 
to  be  carried  on  for  other  purposes,  such  as  wiping 
the  joints  on  the  smaller  pipes,  but  the  less  use  we 
have  for  the  solder-pot  the  less  will  be  the  danger, 
and  the  less  the  temptation  for  the  workman  to 
carry  on  the  melting  in  dangerous  places  in  order 
to  save  himself  the  trouble  of  running  up  and  down 
wearisome  flights  of  stairs  to  a  place  of  safety. 

Still  another  very  serious  objection  is  the  tempta- 
tion this  joint  opens  for  fraud.  The  lead  may  be 
partially  or  even  wholly  omitted  without  very  great 
risk  of  detection,  since  it  is  out  of  sight,  and  fre- 
quently immediately  covered  by  a  coat  of  paint. 


104  Tin:  PRINCIPLES  OF 

The  calking  may  be  still  more  easily  slighted.  If 
the  hydraulic  test  is  not  demanded,  a  coat  of  paint 
or  a  little  putty  will  easily  make  the  joint  stand  the 
smoke  or  peppermint  test.  A  few  of  the  joints  well 
within  the  reach  of  the  house-owner  may  be  filled 
with  genuine  lead,  while  all  those  which  are  covered 
by  floor  boards,  or  are  not  easily  accessible,  may  be 
composed  of  paper  and  sand,  and  covered  with 
putty.  Possibly  a  thin  coating  of  lead  may  be 
poured  on  top  to  present  an  honest  appearance,  and 
satisfy  the  suspicious  and  shrewd  house-owner  who 
goes  about  probing  the  nearest  joints  with  his  pen- 
knife in  order  to  ensnare  "  the  rascally  plumber." 

Finally  the  bell-aud-spigot  joint,  when  faithfully 
made,  is  very  expensive  both  in  material  and  labor. 
The  amount  of  lead  required  for  each  joint,  includ- 
ing waste,  is  estimated  at  about  a  pound  for  every 
inch  in  the  diameter  of  the  pipe.  Thus  an  ordinary 
four-inch  soil-pipe  consumes  four  pounds  of  lead  in 
each  joint. 

The  average  length  of  time  required  by  a  skilful 
pipe-layer  to  make  a  single  joint  is  estimated  at 
twenty  minutes,  not  including,  of  course,  the  plan- 
ning of  the  pipe  system  or  the  cutting  and  general 
arrangement  of  the  pipe  sections  for  their  proper 
positions,  a  part  of  the  work  which  has  no  connec- 
tion with  the  kind  of  joint  used. 

THE    "  SANITAS"    PIPE    JOINT. 

Our  "  Sauitas  "  joint  has  been  designed  to  obviate 
these  defects  and  enable  lengths  of  cast-iron  pipe 
to  be  securely  and  economically  united. 

In  general  terms  it  may  be  described  as  an 
adjustable  flanged  joint  with  lead  washers  or  gaskets 
for  packing.  It  is  a  steam-fitter's  joint,  with  im- 
provements which  adapt  it  for  use  in  plumbing. 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE.  105 

The  leaden  gaskets  are  star-shaped  in  cross-sec- 
tion, and  are  crushed   between  the  flanges  of   the 


Fig.  60.    Detail  of  joini. 


Fig.  59.    The  "  Sanitas  "  pipe.  Fig.  til.    The  half-ring. 

pipes  to  be  connected  by  means  of  bolts  and  nuts. 
Figs.  59  and  60  illustrate  the  joint.     In  Fig.  59 
the  lower  form  of   the   joint  is  to  be  used  in  con- 
necting straight  pipes,  and  the  upper  form  in  con- 


106  THE    PRINCIPLES    OP 

necting  branches  and  bends  with  each  other  and  with 
straight  pipes.  The  latter  differs  from  the  former 
in  the  addition  of  a  half -ring  just  above  the  flange 
of  the  bend  or  branch,  and  is  illustrated  on  a  larger 
scale  in  Fig.  60.  This  half-ring  is  shown  in  detail 
in  Fig.  61,  and  permits  the  bent  or  branched  pipe  to 
be  revolved  about  its  axis  in  setting,  before  the 
bolts  are  tightened  up.  The  entire  pressure  is 
brought  upon  the  ends  by  the  small  shoulders  on 
the  half -rings  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  their 
fracture  when  the  bolts  are  tightened  up.  The  bolt- 
heads  set  in  square  recesses  in  the  flange  ears  to 
prevent  them  from  turning  when  the  nuts  are 
screwed  home. 

Fig.  62  shows  the  lead  packing-ring  in  perspec- 


±'ig-.  OJ.     Lead  pa. 

tive,  and  Fig.  63  shows  its  star-shaped 
section  in  actual  size.  It  is  crushed  to 
less  than  half  its  thickness  by  the  pres- 
sure of  the  two  half -inch  bolts  screwed 
Fig.  03.  sec-  up  easily  by  a  man  of  ordinary  strength 
uonofpac  ig-  w-tk  twelve  or  fourteen  inch  wrenches. 
The  bolts  are  left-and-right  threaded.  Two  ratchet- 
wrenches  working  in  opposite  directions  are  used 
to  correspond  with  the  reversed  threading  of  the 
bolts.  The  pressure  exerted  by  one  wrench  is  thus 
resisted  by  the  other.  This  avoids  the  necessity  of 
securing  the  pipes  while  the  nuts  are  being  screwed 
up,  and  causes  both  sides  to  be  compressed  alike, 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 


107 


since  the  wrench  which  has  given  and  received  the 
greatest  pressure  ceases  temporarily  to  turn  until 
the  other  has  caught  up  with  it. 

The  "  Sanitas  "  wrenches  made  for  this  pipe   are 
so  formed  that  the  joint  may  be  made  in  the  most 


Fig.  64- 

contracted  places,  as  shown  in  Fig.  64,  where  the 
stack  stands  at  the  bottom  of  a  slot  a  foot  deep  and 
only  eight  inches  or  one  brick  in  width. 


Fig.  65.    "  Sanitas  "  ratchet-wrenches. 

Fig.  65  shows  the  ratchet- wrenches. 

By  the  use  of  these  ratchet-wrenches  the  joint 
may  be  thoroughly  calked  by  a  single  ordinary 
unskilled  workman,  after  the  pipes  are  once  set  in 
place,  in  less  than  twenty  seconds.  To  calk  an 


108 


THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 


ordinary  bell-and-spigot  joint  in  the  usual  defective 
manner  is  estimated  by  good  authorities  as  requiring 
on  the  average,  when  the  pipes  are  once  in  place, 
as  many  minutes.  The  amount  of  lead  used  for 
calking  our  flanged  joint  is  about  one  eighth  that 
required  for  the  ordinary  joint.  The  lead  gasket 
for  four-inch  pipes  weighs  half  a  pound ;  and  for 
two-inch  pipes,  one  fourth  of  a  pound,  while  the  rule 
for  calking  ordinary  joints  is  to  use  one  pound  of 
lead  for  every  inch  in  the  diameter  of  the  pipe. 
We  also  save  the  fuel,  oakum,  etc.,  used  in  making 
ordinary  joints,  and  avoid  the  danger  of  lead-melt- 
ing in  houses. 

Figs.  66  and  67  show  in  section  and  elevation 
the  simple  method  of  connecting  lead  and  iron 
pipes  when  the  flanged  joint  is  used.  With  ordinary 
bell-and-spigot  pipes  the  proper  connection  between 
lead  and  iron  is  both  laborious  and  expensive,  re- 
quiring the  use  of 
brass  ferrules.  The 
lead  pipe  has  to  be 
wiped  on  to  the 
brass  ferrule,  and 
the  brass  must  be 
calked  into  the  iron 
hub.  A  double  joint 
is  thus  required,  and 
this,  especially  with 
the  larger  pipes,  in- 
volves the  use  Of  Fig.  67.  Perspec- 
considerable  skill  tive  vlew- 
and  valuable  material.  With  our  flanged  joint  all 
this  is  done  away  with.  The  lead  is  simply 
flanged  out  to  correspond  with  the  flanges  of 
the  iron  pipe  to  which  it  is  to  be  connected, 
and  bolted  to  the  pipe  by  means  of  a  cast- 


Fig.  6«.  Sectior 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE.  109 

iron  ring  furnished  with  the  pipe-fittings,  and  having 
ears  and  bolt-holes  corresponding  with  those  of  the 
pipe-flanges.  The  lead  packing-ring  is  used  be- 
tween the  lead  and  iron  flanges  exactly  as  if  the 
flanges  were  both  of  iron.  In  this  manner  a  per- 
manent steam-tight  joint  is  formed  between  the  two 
metals  without  hand-calking,  brass  ferrule,  or  joint- 
wiping. 

In  bell-and-spigot  pipes  comparatively  few  bends 
and  branches  are  made.  Should  the  angle  required 
to  reach  a  certain  fixture  in  laying  the  pipe  be  a 
different  one  from  that  given  by  the  bends  fur- 
nished, the  desired  direction  must  be  obtained  by 
canting  the  spigot  slightly  in  the  socket,  a  move- 
ment different  from  the  axial  rotation  we  have 
already  described  and  provided  for.  To  accomplish 
the  same  result  with  flanged  pipes  a  greater  variety 
of  castings  are  made,  furnishing  bends  of  a  larger 
number  of  angles,  in  the  same  manner  as  is  done  in 
wrought-irou  piping  when  used  with  screw-joints  for 
plumbing  purposes.  With  the  flange-joint  a  certain 
play  is  obtained  by  screwing  up  that  side  of  the 
pipe  upon  which  the  greatest  inclination  is  to  be 
given  slightly  more  than  the  other.  But  the  variety  of 
castings  furnished  enables  every  requirement  to  be 
met,  without  resorting  to  the  method  of  unequally 
compressing  the  packing-ring.  "We  find  £,  £,  £,  TX7, 
^7,  and  -^  bends  corresponding  to  angles  of  90°, 
60°,  45°,  22£°,  lli°,  and  5f°  respectively.  By  using 
some  one  of  these  bends,  or  a  combination  of  two  or 
more,  any  desired  direction  can  be  obtained.  The 
half -rings  are  required  only  for  bends  and  branches. 
Straight  pipes  are  screwed  together  directly,  and 
have  ears  and  bolt-holes  at  both  ends.  The  straight 
pipes  are  manufactured  in  lengths  of  1ft.,  2ft.,  3ft., 
5ft.,  and  upward;  10  inches,  9  inches,  8  inches, 


110  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

7  inches,  and  6  inches.  Pieces  having  a  bell  or  a  spi- 
got on  one  end  and  a  flange  on  the  other  are  also  made 
for  connection  with  old  bell-and-spigot  pipes,  or  for 
substituting  bell-and-spigot  pipes  at  any  point  de- 
sired in  case  suitable  "  Sanitas  "  fittings  cannot  be 
obtained  at  momentary  notice  or  in  out-of-the-way 
places.  Moreover,  by  using  these  connections,  any 
one  desiring  to  try  the  "  Sanitas  "  pipe  for  the  pur- 
pose of  comparing  it  with  the  ordinary  pipe  before 
using  it  exclusively  can  incorporate  in  his  piping  a 
few  lengths  of  the  "  Sanitas  "  pipe,  and  observe  its 
action  under  hydraulic  pressure  and  otherwise,  as 
compared  with  that  of  the  ordinary  pipe,  of  which 
the  remainder  of  his  work  may  be  composed.  Al- 
though this  joint  requires  less  space  for  setting  than 
any  other,  it  is  still  always  best  to  give  ample  room 
for  it,  especially  if  it  be  set  in  slots,  and  particu- 
larly if  the  plumber  is  accustomed  to  the  old  bell- 
and-spigot  pipe  only.  It  is  recommended  never  to 
set  soil-pipes  in  slots.  But  if  it  must  be  done,  the 
slots  should  not  be  over  four  inches  deep  or  less  than 
one  foot  wide. 

As   already  explained,  the  hydraulic  test,  which 
should  in  every  house  be   required  before  the  work 
can  be  pronounced  safe,  is  on   ordi- 
nary bell-and-spigot   pipes  very  diffi- 
cult of   application,  because  there  is 
no  easy  method  of  temporarily  closing 
the  outlets.     Here   again  our  flanged 
joint  presents  an  advantage  of  great 
importance.       In   order   to   close   the 
Fig.  <>8.  cupped  °Pening  it  is  only  necessary  to  screw 
end.  on  caps  provided  with  ears  and  bolt- 

holes  corresponding  with  those  of  the  pipe-flanges, 
as  shown  in  Fig.  68.  The  regular  packing-ring  is 
used  between  the  cap  and  flange,  so  that  the  joint 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE.  Ill 

is  steam-tight,  like  the  rest  of  the  piping.  When 
the  test  has  been  made  the  caps  can  be  removed 
and  used  again  and  again  by  the  plumber.  They 
are  furnished  with  the  rest  of  the  pipe  and  fittings. 
The  lead  rings  after  use  can  be  used  for  old  lead  or 
recast  into  new  rings. 

It  is  sometimes  required  in  practice  that  each  pipe 
used  be  tested  at  the  foundry  before  coating  it, 
in  order  to  ensure  soundness.  With  ordinary  bell- 
and-spigot  pipes,  the  application  of  a  pressure  test 
is  difficult,  if  not  impossible.  The  straight  lengths 
can  be  tested  under  pressure,  but  the  branches  and 
bends  offer  serious  difficulties  on  account  of  their 
form.  Hence  the  oil  test  has  to  be  resorted  to,  and 
the  strength  or  thickness  of  the  pipe  is  not  by  this 
method  made  known ;  moreover,  the  oil  test  is  in 
many  other  respects  obviously  inferior  to  a  strong 
pressure  test.  A  simple  machine  has  been  devised 
to  test  these  flange-pipes.  It  consists  of  two  plates 
with  rubber  disks  on  one  side,  which  are  pressed 
against  the  flanges  of  the  pipe  to  be  tested,  by 
means  of  clamps  and  wedges  of  peculiar  form, 
designed  for  rapid  application.  One  of  the  plates 
is  perforated  and  connected  with  a  water-pipe  and 
pressure-gauge.  A  simple  force-pump  is  added,  so 
that  where  the  water-pressure  is  subject  to  consider- 
able fluctuation,  each  pipe  may  be  tested  under  pre- 
cisely the  same  pressure.  By  the  use  of  this  device, 
flanged  pipes  of  any  desired  size,  and  all  the 
branches  and  fittings,  may  be  quickly  and  accurately 
tested  at  the  foundry  before  coating. 

In  the  case  of  ordinary  bell-and-spigot  pipes,  the 
expense  and  imperfections  of  the  jointing  are  so 
great  that  the  pipes  are  cast  very  long,  in  order  to 
save  joints  as  far  as  possible.  The  attempt  to  cast 
pipes  of  small  diameter,  say  two-inch,  three-inch, 


112  THE    PRINCIPLES    OP 

and  four-inch,  in  lengths  of  five  feet,  is  almost 
certain,  unless  special  precautions  are  taken, 
to  result  in  an  inequality  in  the  thickness  of 
the  metal.  The  writer  has  found  bell-and-spigot 
pipes  of  five-feet  lengths,  made  by  the  best  firms 
^^p^^  and  sold  for  extra  heavy  weight,  no 
^^^  ^^^  thicker  than  a  piece  of  thick  paper 
J  ^  on  one  side  and  half  an  inch  on  the 

•  I  other.  Fig.  69  is  an  accurate  draw- 

^  J  ing  of  a  two-inch  pipe  which  he  has 

^k  J  recently  been  obliged  to  reject, 

^^i  \-^  among  a  large  number  of  others  from 
Fig.  69.  imperfec-  the  best  makers,  upon  testing  them 

tions  of  long  before  they  were  laid  by  the  plumber, 
castings.  jt  jg  muc]j  more  unusual  to  find  pipes 
of  equal  than  of  unequal  thickness  throughout. 
This  is  a  very  important  consideration.  The 
strength  and  thickness  of  a  line  of  piping  is  equal 
to  its  thinnest  part,  as  the  strength  of  a  rope  is  equal 
to  its  weakest  part.  Hence  all  the  metal  used  in 
the  piping  of  a  house  beyond  the  thickness  of  its 
thinnest  part  is  thrown  away.  Of  what  use  is  it  to 
pay  for  extra  heavy  pipes,  when  one  side  of  most  of 
them  is  extra  light  ?  It  is  not  for  the  strength  of 
the  piping  that  we  require  the  thickness,  since  they 
are  not  used  like  columns  to  support  floors  and 
walls,  but  for  security  against  leakage  and  decay. 
Now  since,  as  is  very  well  known  by  plumbers  and 
engineers,  the  majority  of  long  pipes  of  small  sizes 
are  uneven  in  thickness,  the  chances  of  obtaining 
only  the  even  pipes  throughout  an  entire  stack  are 
obviously  infinitesimally  small,  and  it  is  not  proba- 
ble that  one  house  in  a  thousand  exists  in  which  one 
or  more  of  the  lengths  of  pipe  are  not  very  seriously 
uneven.  The  enormous  waste  of  metal  and  the 
great  danger  of  leakage  which  this  condition  of 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE.  113 

things  implies  renders  it  of  the  utmost  importance 
to  employ  some  means  of  remedying  this  great 
defect. 

We  find  a  remedy  in  using  short  castings  as  far 
as  possible,  and  in  casting  the  long  pieces  with  un- 
usual precautions  and  in  a  different  manner  from 
the  short  ones.  The  plumber  would  find  great 
advantages  to  offset  the  inconveniences  in  using  a 
variety  of  short  lengths  of  pipes,  instead  of  fre- 
quently cutting  the  usual  five-feet  lengths  to  fit  the 
spaces  between  the  floors  and  fixtures.  Cutting 
cast-iron  is  an  extremely  difficult  and  tedious  pro- 
cess. Were  these  various  lengths  manufactured 
from  six  inches  upward,  he  would  find  it  possi- 
ble to  avoid  cutting  entirely,  and  probably  add 
very  few  joints  to  the  number  now  required,  for  it 
must  be  borne  in  mind  that  each  time  a  pipe  is  cut 
a  new  joint  is  necessitated,  so  that  the  saving  in 
the  number  of  joints  in  ordinary  plumbing  practice, 
by  using  no  other  than  five-feet  castings,  is  much 
smaller  than  is  at  first  supposed.  Now,  however, 
that  we  have  found  a  simple,  safe,  and  economical 
joint  to  take  the  place  of  the  clumsy,  uncertain, 
and  expensive  one  in  vogue,  we  have  no  further 
need  of  long  castings.  The  saving  in  pipe-cutting, 
to  say  nothing  of  the  other  advantages,  far  more  than 
offsets  the  labor  of  making  an  extra  joint  or  two, 
and  we  have  a  stack  of  pipes  whose  thickness  can 
be  relied  upon  as  being  uniform  throughout. 

Where  it  is  found  necessary  for  any  purpose  to 
remove  a  piece  of  pipe  from  a  stack  already  set  up 
it  is  only  necessary  to  place  temporary  supports 
under  the  pipe  above  the  one  to  be  disjointed,  un- 
screw the  bolts,  remove  one  of  the  lead  rings  by 
means  of  a  chisel  or  saw,  and  slip  out  the  length  to 
be  removed. 


114  THE   PRINCIPLES    OF 

To  replace  a  pipe  or  fitting  several  methods  may 
be  employed,  of  which  the  best  is  that  in  which  short 
flanged  or  threaded  brass  pipes  are  used.  To  the 
lower  end  of  the  pipe  to  which  the  new  piece  is  to  be 
connected  is  bolted  a  piece  of  short  flanged  brass  pipe. 
Another  short  flanged  brass  pipe  is  then  slipped 
over  the  first,  being  made  just  large  enough  to  do 
so,  and  the  fitting  to  be  connected  is  afterward 
bolted  to  its  flange,  and  to  the  main  piping  below. 
The  two  brass  pipes  are  finally  connected  bv  means 
of  an  ordinary  wiped  solder  joint.  Or  brass  pipes 
may  be  screwed  to  iron  flanges,  to  save  the  more 
expensive  metal. 

Another  method  is  to  substitute  iron  for  the  brass 
pieces,  one  of  the  pices  being  provided  with  a  hub, 
and  calk  the  joints  by  hand  in  the  usual  manner. 
This  latter  method,  however,  has  the  objections 
of  all  hand-calked  joints,  and  is  for  this  reason  not 
to  be  recommended  when  the  first  can  be  applied. 
By  this  means  the  flanged  pipes  may  be  connected 
with  old  work  in  which  bell-and-spigot  pipes  have 
been  used.  Or  bell-and-spigot  pipes  may  at  any 
place  be  inserted  in  the  line  of  flanged  pipes  in 
this  manner,  if  desired. 

As  we  have  already  explained,  the  bell-and-spigot 
joint  is  incapable  of  withstanding  the  effects  of 
sudden  and  severe  variations  of  temperature.  The 
spigot  being  nearest  the  heat  expands  more  than 
the  hub  and  compresses  the  surrounding  lead,  per- 
manently diminishing  its  bulk,  and  forming  a 
passage  for  the  escape  of  gas.  The  principle  of  the 
construction  of  our  flange-joint  is  such  that  this 
trouble  is  overcome.  The  flanges  are  affected 
equally  by  changes  of  temperature,  and  the  lead 
packing  is  never  compressed  by  expansion  or  con- 
traction. Thus  supposing,  when  the  pipes  are  cool, 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  115 

steam  is  suddenly  allowed  to  pass  through  them. 
Both  upper  and  lower  flanges  and  the  lead  firmly 
imbedded  between  them  expand  alike  outward 
under  the  same  degree  of  heat,  and  return  again 
unaltered  as  the  pipe  recools. 

The  bolts  expand  and  contract  with  the  changes 
of  temperature  proportionally  with  the  flanges,  and 
do  not  affect  the  packing. 

To  give  these  theories  a  practical  test,  I  have  had 
some  four-inch  piping  connected  and  closed  up  at 
the  ends  with  our  flanged  joints,  and  coupled  the 
whole  with  the  boiler  of  a  steam-engine,  the  steam- 
gauge  indicating  about  thirty  pounds  pressure. 
The  steam  was  left  on  until  the  pipe-flanges  and 
bolts  had  all  become  thoroughly  heated  through. 
The  coupling  was  then  immediately  transferred  to 
the  cold-water  supply  from  the  city  main,  and  after 
the  steam  had  been  let  out  the  cold  water  was 
suddenly  turned  on  until  the  piping  was  filled.  As 
the  experiment  was  performed  in  midwinter,  the 
test  was  as  severe  as  possible.  The  cold  watjr 
was  then  poured  out  and  steam  again  immediately 
applied.  This  alternating  application  of  steam 
and  cold  water  was  repeated  successively  a  dozen 
times.  During  the  entire  process  no  sign  of 
a  leak  either  of  steam  or  water  was  obtained.  The 
bolts  had  been  screwed  up  in  the  ordinary  manner 
without  extra  care. 

It  is  well  known  that  no  bell-and-spigot  joint  will 
stand  such  a  test  even  after  the  most  careful 
calking. 

The  same  variations  of  temperature  cause  the 
pipes  to  expand  and  contract  also  longitudinally. 
But  in  this  direction  there  is  always  ample  play  left 
in  setting  the  pipes  for  this  action,  and  the  lead  is 
obviously  not  affected  by  it.  Each  packing  has 


116  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

upon  it  the  weight  of  all  the  pipes  above  it,  as  well 
as  the  pressure  exerted  by  the  bolts.  The  weight  is 
therefore  constant,  whatever  be  the  temperature  or 
length  of  the  pipes,  provided  thev  are  properly  set. 
The  expansive  force  of  iron  is  so  great  that  if  free 
play  is  not  allowed  for  it  in  a  building,  it  will  make 
way  for  itself  by  tearing  away  its  bonds.  Mr. 
Bayles  says :  "Insetting  up  a  line  of  soil-pipe, 
intelligent  provision  should  always  be  made  for  ex- 
pansion and  contraction  of  the  metal  resulting  from 
changes  of  temperature.  These  changes,  however, 
are  seldom  sudden  or  extreme  ;  but  when  the  pipe 
is  at  any  point  rigidly  fastened  to  the  wall  it  ex- 
pands in  both  directions.  The  amount  of  motion 
at  the  ends  is  small,  but  it  must  be  provided  for,  or 
it  will  provide  for  itself.  The  power  with  which 
iron  expands,  as  its  temperature  is  raised,  is  practi- 
cally irresistible.  The  end  of  a  pipe  may  not 
move  more  than  an  eighth  or  sixteenth  of  an  inch, 
but  the  power  with  which  it  moves  that  distance  is 
so  great  that  it  can  only  be  resisted  by  a  power 
great  enough  to  crush  the  metal.  This  would  be,  in 
ordinary  cases,  equal  to  about  75,000  pounds  per 
square  inch,  the  strength  of  cast-iron  to  resist 
crushing  strains  being  from  60,000  to  90,000  pounds 
per  square  inch.  Consequently,  we  see  that  unless 
the  fastenings  at  the  ends  of  aline  of  cast-iron  pipe  are 
of  such  a  character  as  to  admit  of  slight  movement, 
something  must  give  way,  and  it  is  not  likely  to  be 
the  pipe.  This,  then,  must  be  provided  for  in  the 
character  and  position  of  the  fastenings,  which 
must  be  so  arranged  that,  while  allowing  for  some 
movement,  they  shall  not  develop  a  tendency  to 
break  or  loosen  the  joints.  Under  ordinary  condi- 
tions the  amount  of  expansion  is  seldom  great 
enough  to  give  much  trouble,  but  when  steam  or  a 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  117 

great  volume  of  very  hot  water  washes  into  an  iron 
pipe  it  is  sometimes  great  enough  to  loosen  joints 
and  even  crack  the  pipe." 

Accordingly,  if  a  line  of  pipe  is  rigidly  fixed  at 
the  bottom,  the  hooks  which  hold  it  against  the 
walls  should  be  placed  a  short  distance  away  from 
the  flanges,  so  that  the  line  of  piping  is  free  to  slip 
up  and  down  slightly  under  the  influence  of  expan- 
sion and  contraction.  Otherwise  these  hooks  are 
liable  to  be  loosened  from  the  mortar  or  woodwork 
into  which  they  may  be  driven,  since  it  would  be 
easier  for  the  pipe  to  loosen  the  hooks  in  the  mortar 
or  wood  than  to  further  compress  the  packing-rings, 
or  to  stretch  out  the  heavy  bolts  of  wrought  iron. 

The  opportunities  furnished  by  the  ordinary  bell- 
and-spigot  joint  for  careless  or  fraudulent  work  are 
avoided  in  our  flanged  joints.  The  entire  thickness 
of  the  lead  is  visible  from  the  outside  between  the 
flanges.  As  the  lead  is  the  only  packing  used,  and 
as  this  is  in  open  view,  nothing  can  be  fraudulently 
omitted.  The  bolts  and  nuts  are  also  visible  and, 
moreover,  must  be  of  the  standard  size  and  strength 
in  order  to  furnish  the  requisite  amount  of  com- 
pression to  stand  the  hydraulic  test. 

Thus  we  find  in  our  "  Sanitas  "  joint  all  the  char- 
acteristics demanded  for  plumbing  purposes. 

1.  It  is  water,  gas,  and  steam  tight,  even  under 
heavy  pressure. 

2.  It  is  unaffected  by  the  expansion  and  con- 
traction of  the  pipes. 

3.  It  is   capable   of    resisting   severe   jars   and 
strains,  both  compressive  and  tensile,  such  as  are 
occasioned    by    the    weight    of    the    pipe,    or    by 
settlement  and  movement  in  the  building. 

4.  It  requires  neither  skilled  labor  nor  machinery 
in  its  manufacture  or  in  its  jointing. 


118  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF    HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 

5.  It  is  of  such  a  form  and  nature   as   to   admit 
its  being  as  easily  taken  apart  for  repairs   or  alter- 
ations as  it  is  put  together,  and  this  without  damage 
to  any  part. 

6.  Its  form  and  construction  are  such  as  to  allow 
it  to  be  made  and  put   together   rapidly,   to   follow 
easily  the  irregular  contour  of  the  construction,  and 
to  be  used  immediately  after  fixing  in  place. 

7.  It  requires   no  hand-calking  or   hammering, 
which  are  liable  to  fracture  the  pipe  or  its  lining. 

8.  It  is  so  formed  that  any  imperfection,  either 
in  the  materials  used  or  in  the  manner  of  putting 
them  together,  can  easily  be  detected  at   a   glance 
from  without,  without  expert  aid. 

9.  It  is  compact   enough   to   permit  its  use    in 
the  most  contracted  spaces. 

10.  It  causes  no  obstruction  to  the  water-way, 
and   leaves   no   appreciable   space   or    pocket    for 
deposit. 

11.  It     is     simple,     durable,      indestructible, 
economical,  and  unobjectionable  in  appearance. 

It  is,  therefore,  suitable  for  water,  gas,  and  steam 
under  pressure,  as  well  as  for  drain  and  soil  pipes. 


SIZE  AND  GENERAL  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  PIPING. 


HAVING  thus  described  a  safe  and  economical 
method  of  jointing  our  cast-iron  pipes,  it  remains 
to  consider  their  proportions  and  general  arrange- 
ment. We  shall,  as  treating  of  house  drainage, 
confine  our  attention  to  the  piping  of  the  house 
proper ;  the  consideration  of  the  drainage  beyond 
the  house  limits  belonging  more  properly  to  the 
subject  of  sanitary  engineering. 

The  size  of  soil  and  drain  pipes  should  not  ex- 
ceed four  inches.  This  is  ample  to  carry  off  every 
possible  form  of  discharge  or  combination  of  dis- 
charges to  be  met  with  in  plumbing,  even  in  the 
largest  buildings,  except  for  special  hotel,  laundry, 
or  manufacturing  purposes.  It  is  a  mistake  to  sup- 
pose that  because  the  fixtures  are  multiplied,  the 
diameter  of  the  soil-pipe  must  be  multiplied  corre- 
spondingly. It  is  a  rare  occurrence,  even  in  a  hotel- 
building,  that  several  water-closets  are  flushed  at 
exactlv  the  same  instant,  and  even  if  they  were, 
their  distance  from  each  other  and  the  capacity  of  a 
four-inch  pipe  would  give  ample  room  for  the  escape 
of  the  water.  The  choking  of  a  pipe  is  far  oftener 
due  to  its  being  too  large,  or  to  faulty  construction, 
than  to  its  want  of  sufficient  size.  The  great  per- 
pendicular extension  of  plumbing-pipes  also  facili- 
tates the  discharge,  and  pipes  which  for  land-drain- 
age would  be  much  too  small,  will  be  found  ample 
for  plumbing  purposes  on  this  account. 


120  HOUSE    DRAINAGE. 

When  we  consider  how  important  it  is  that  the 
soil  and  drain  pipes  should  be  as  thoroughly  scoured 
as  possible  by  the  discharges  sent  through  them, 
and  remember  that  the  smaller  the  pipe  the  more 
perfect  the  flushing,  we  should  be  inclined  to  reduce 
our  soil-pipes  to  a  size  even  smaller  than  four  inches, 
were  it  not  for  the  careless  usage  slop-hoppers  and 
water-closets  are  so  often  subjected  to. 

The  traps  of  water-closets  are  very  frequently 
made  of  pipe  as  much  as  four  inches  in  diameter, 
and  large  pieces  of  newspaper  are  often  used  where 
toilet-paper  alone  is  suitable.  This,  and  the  care- 
lessness of  servants  who  will  throw  into  a  closet  any- 
thing which  is  small  enough  to  pass  through  its  trap, 
would  cause  a  great  amount  of  annoyance  and  ex- 
pense if  the  soil-pipe  were  smaller  than  the  trap  of 
the  slop-hopper  or  water-closet.  Hence  we  have 
fixed  upon  four  inches  as  both  the  smallest  and  the 
largest  size  of  soil  and  house-drain  pipes,  and  be- 
lieve that  no  other  size  should  be  used  except  for 
rare  and  exceptional  cases. 

All  the  piping  of  a  house  should  be  in  full  view. 
Nothing  should  be  walled  in  or  covered  over  and 
rendered  inaccessible.  One  of  the  first  rules  of 
modern  sanitary  work  is  to  bring  everything  out  of 
the  darkness  into  light  and  air,  where  defects,  if 
they  occur,  can  at  once  be  detected  and  removed. 
We  are  accustomed  to  running  our  steam-pipes  in 
plain  sight,  and  rendering  them,  by  gilding  or  silver- 
ing, as  ornamental  as  possible.  The  same  custom 
is  now  beginning  to  apply  to  our  plumbing-pipes. 
Where  they  pass  through  parlors  or  reception-rooms, 
they  should  stand  behind  movable  panels  or  doors  : 
a  little  ingenuity  on  the  part  of  the  architect 
will  generally  enable  this  to  be  done  with  good 
effect. 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  121 

The  piping  should  be  arranged  to  run  as  direct  as 
possible,  and  should  be  concentrated.  It  will  be 
found  very  convenient,  especially  in  city  houses,  to 
build  a  broad  recess,  or  slot,  in  the  masonry  of  the 
party- wall,  on  the  line  of  the  bath  or  toilet  rooms. 
for  all  the  plumbing  and  ventilating  pipes  which  can 
be  collected  together  in  this  neighborhood,  and,  if 
possible,  to  run  up  in  this  slot  the  smoke-flue  of  the 
furnace,  in  iron.  The  heat  of  the  smoke-flue  will 
create  a  strong  circulation  in  the  ventilation-pipe, 
and  at  the  same  time  radiate  a  useful  heat  into  the 
bathrooms.  The  brick  recess  should  be  enclosed  in 
masonry  on  all  sides  where  it  passes  through  the 
floor,  and  as  high  as  three  or  four  feet  from  the 
ground.  This  serves  to  protect  the  woodwork  from 
clanger  of  overheating.  Between  this  height  and 
the  ceiling  the  recess  is  open  in  front,  exposing  the 
pipes  and  admitting  the  radiant  heat  from  the  flue. 
The  various  stories  are  separated  from  each  other 
by  brick  platforms,  built  across  the  recess  on  the 
line  of  the  floors,  and  made  tight  around  the  pipes 
with  cement  or  mortar.  Above  the  upper  bathroom 
the  iron  smoke-flue  enters  a  regular  brick  flue,  and 
the  soil-pipe  ventilator  runs  up  independently 
through  the  roof.  The  writer  has  adopted  this 
system  in  several  city  houses  and  found  it  very 
satisfactory.  The  furnace  smoke-flue  may  be  con- 
structed of  tile  instead  of  iron,  if  preferred,  for 
greater  durability ;  but  if  iron  be  used,  it  may  be 
made  heavy  enough  to  last  as  long  as  desired.  The 
recess  being,  moreover,  accessible,  the  pipe  may  be 
renewed  at  any  time  without  difficulty. 

Every  stack  of  soil-pipe  should  be  thoroughly 
ventilated,  by  being  extended  full-size  from  the 
bottom  to,  and  through,  the  roof.  No  ventilating- 
pipe  running  through  the  roof  should  be  of  less 


122  THE   PRINCIPLES   OF 

diameter  than  four  inches,  inasmuch  as  smaller 
pipes  are  liable  to  become  clogged  in  winter  by 
snow  and  frost. 

The  extensions  above  the  roof  should  not  be  less- 
than  two  feet  high  and  the  tops  should  never  open 
near  a  chimney  -  top,  ventilating  -  shaft,  dormer- 
window,  or  other  opening,  for  obvious  reasons.  It 
is  generally  sufficient  to  allow  the  pipes  to  remain 
wide  open,  without  return-bends  or  ventilating-caps, 
which  only  serve  to  obstruct  the  circulation.  Wire 
nettings  may  be  put  over  the  opening  at  the  top,  to 
prevent  objects  from  falling  into  the  pipe,  through 
accident  or  malice. 

These  iron  ventilating  and  soil  pipes  form  the 
best  possible  lightning-conductors,  because  they 
are  always  sure  to  have  a  good  and  moist  ground- 
connection,  and  are  composed  of  a  bodv  of  metal 
heavy  enough  to  carry  the  most  powerful  charges 
of  electricity  without  danger  of  melting ;  their 
presence,  therefore,  in  sufficient  number,  renders 
the  usual  form  of  lightning-rod  superfluous. 

The  soil-pipe  should  be  firmly  suported  at  the 
bottom.  The  best  support  consists  in  the  projection 
of  the  foundation-wall,  or  in  a  stone  or  brick  pier 
made  for  that  purpose.  The  junction  between  the 
soil  and  drain  pipes  should  be  made  with  an  easy 
bend,  of  as  large  radius  as  possible,  to  prevent  the 
accumulation  of  obstructions  and  the  powerful  back- 
pressure on  traps  caused  by  the  friction  of  the  air 
in  attempting  to  pass  round  a  sharp  bend  in  front  of 
a  descending  column  of  water  in  the  soil-pipe. 

The  main-drain  should  run  along  in  full  view  on 
the  foundation- wall,  if  possible,  or  supported  by 
piers  resting  on  the  concrete,  or  hung  from  the 
joists  by  strong  iron  hangers.  Clean-out  openings 
should  be  provided  at  all  places  where  sediment  or 
obstructions  are  liable  to  collect. 


HOUSE   DRAINAGE.  123 

Sometimes  it  is  found  convenient  to  rest  the  drain 
directly  on  the  concrete.  In  this  case  it  is  custom- 
ary to 'form  the  concrete  in  a  trench  whose  bottom 
pitches  with  the  proper  grade  to  accommodate  the 
drain.  The  drain  should  have  a  fall  of  half  an  inch 
to  a  foot,  if  possible,  or  at  least  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
to  a  foot ;  of  course,  the  greater  the  pitch  the  better. 

The  main-drain  should  be  trapped  with  a  running- 
trap  of  iron  just  inside  the  cellar-wall,  or,  if  this  is 
impossible,  outside  the  house,  in  a  manhole.  The 
trap  should  always  be  accessible  and  should  be  pro- 
vided with  clean-out  caps  with  air-tight  covers.  It 
is  a  good  plan  to  run  a  water-conductor  into  this 
trap,  to  ensure  its  occasional  flushing. 

To  provide  for  a  complete  circulation  of  air 
through  the  soil  and  drain  pipes,  a  fresh-air  inlet  of 
the  full  size  of  the  drain  should  enter  it  just  inside 
(on  the  house  side)  of  the  main-trap  above  described. 
The  mouth  of  this  inlet  should  open  outside  of  the 
house,  at  some  little  distance  from  any  door  or 
window. 

Where  a  fixture  is  connected  with  the  rigid  iron 
soil-pipe  stack,  provision  must  be  made  for  a  certain 
degree  of  movement  or  play  on  the  part  of  the 
fixture,  in  such  a  manner  that  the  movement  shall 
not  crack  the  joint  or  in  any  way  loosen  it.  A 
settlement  of  the  masonry,  a  jarring  or  shrinkage  of 
the  floors  is  certain  in  a  new  building  to  alter  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent  the  relative  positions  of  the 
fixture  and  its  soil-pipe  connection.  Injury  to  the 
joint  from  this  cause  may  be  prevented  in  two  ways. 
One  of  these  is  to  use  a  sufficient  length  of  lead  pipe 
in  all  cases  between  the  fixture  and  the  iron  stack, 
and  the  other  is  to  support  the  fixture  directly  on 
the  stack  itself,  and  make  it  entirely  independent 
of  the  floors  and  woodwork. 


124  THE    PRINCIPLES    OF 

The  first  method  is  used  with  cast-iron  piping  and 
with  all  fixtures  having  waste-pipes  of  small  calibre. 
Lead  piping  has  so  much  flexibility  that  a  section  of 
even  moderate  length  will  permit  of  a  considerable 
movement  on  the  part  of  the  fixture  without  injury 
to  the  joint.  Where  the  fixture  is  a  water-closet,  a 
length  of  lead  pipe  having  a  horizontal  extension  of 
two  feet,  or  its  equivalent,  in  any  inclined  direction, 
will  permit  the  utmost  shrinkage  of  joists  or 
settlement  of  walls  liable  to  occur  in  good  plumb- 
ing after  the  plumbing  is  connected,  without  injury 
to  the  work. 

The  second  method,  that  of  supporting  the  fixture 
directly  on  the  stack,  has  been  successfully  employed 
with  wrought-iron  piping.  The  closet  sets  on  a 
cast-iron  base  firmly  attached  to  the  piping,  so  that 
a  shrinkage  of  the  floor  may  take  place  without 
affecting  the  joint. 

It  is  important  that  all  angles  and  bends  in  our 
piping  should  be  as  smooth  and  gradual  as  possible. 

No  sharp  angles  should  be  allowed.  Thus,  if  it  is 
ever  necessary  at  any  point  to  use  T-connections, 
they  should  not  be  formed  as  they  are  in  common 
bell-and-spigot  fittings,  but  should  be  made  with  a 
curve  at  the  branch  junction.  But  Y-branches  are 
to  be  preferred  to  T-brauches,  and  it  is  very  seldom, 
if  ever,  that  T's  are  required. 

The  peppermint  and  smoke  tests  are  useful  for 
application  at  any  time  after  the  house  has  been 
occupied,  when  it  is  desired  to  ascertain  if  the  pipe 
system  has  remained  sound  throughout,  especially  in 
places  where  a  leakage  of  water  might  not  occur. 
To  apply  the  peppermint  test,  the  vent-openings  are 
first  to  be  closed  with  plugs.  A  two-ounce  bottle 
of  oil-of-pepermint  is  then  carried  up  to  the  roof  by 
an  assistant,  and  its  contents  poured  into  the  soil- 


HOUSE    DRAINAGE.  125 

pipe  at  its  mouth  above  the  roof.  A  pail  or  pitcher 
of  hot  water  is  immediately  poured  down  after  it, 
and  the  opening  is  then  plugged  up.  The  assistant 
remains  upon  the  roof  until  the  examination  within 
the  house  has  been  completed ;  otherwise  the  odor 
clinging  to  his  clothes  will  be  likely  to  follow  him 
into  the  house.  The  peppermint  is  volatilized  by 


Fig.  70.    Asphyxiator  for  applying  smoke  test. 

the  hot  water,  and  should  any  leak  occur  it  will  at 
once  be  detected  and  located  by  its  pungent  odor, 
unless  the  pipes  have  been  improperly  imbedded  in 
the  walls  or  are  so  covered  up  that  access  to  them 
is  impossible.  If  they  are  set  as  they  should  be, 
everywhere  in  open  view,  no  difficulty  will  attend  the 
detection  and  repair  of  the  minutest  defect  or  leak. 
The  smoke  test  is  applied  by  means  of  special 
bellows  manufactured  for  the  purpose  (Fig.  70). 
It  enables  those  whose  sense  of  smell  is  not  acute  to 
operate  instead  with  the  sense  of  sight. 


RUSSELL   &    BURKE, 

No.    18    Howard    Street,     BOSTON. 


Sectional  Steam  Boilers, 

WROUGHT  AND  CAST  IRON  AND  BRASS 

PIPES, 

FOR  STEAM,  QAS,  AND  WATER 

PLTJMBINGK 


Tubular   and  Artesian   Wells   Sunk. 


Brass  and  Iron  Fittings,  Coils.  Heaters,  Pumps,  and  all 
kinds  of  Steam  and  Gas  Fitters'  Tools,  Hot  Water 
and  Steam  Wanning  and  Gas  Lighting  Appa- 
ratus.   Also,  Plumbing  Materials 
furnished  and  put  up. 

ESTIMATES    GIVEN    FOR   HEATING    PRIVATE    HOUSES 
PUBLIC  BUILDINGS,  ETC. 

DANIEL  RUSSELL,  JR.,  T.  F.  BURKE, 

Everett.  E.  Somerville. 


PORTLAND 

fftone  Vta  (Jo. 

SALT  GLAZED  SEWER  PIPE, 

GREASE  TRAPS, 

FIRE  BRICK, 
TERRA-COTTA  VASES, 

Send  for  Catalogue  and  Price-lists. 


No,  8  Liberty  Sq,, 
BOSTON,  MASS. 

GEO.  C.  DUNNE, 

General  Agent. 


JfiMES  TUCKER.  FRflNK   R.  TITUS. 

TUCKER  &  TITUS, 
plumber1^  panita)  Engineer, 

No.  9  Pemberton  Sqnare, 


Orders  by  Telephone  No.  739. 


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